


Lunatic

by Blue Eyes Black Dragon (OperaGoose), OperaGoose



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Accidental Mating, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Background Relationships, Chaseshipping, Complex Society Structures, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi Chapter Work, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Omega Verse, Other, Puzzleshipping, Self-Lubrication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 03:59:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 45,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3473579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaGoose/pseuds/Blue%20Eyes%20Black%20Dragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaGoose/pseuds/OperaGoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The omegaverse/werewolf AU nobody asked for. </p>
<p>"By the time they find Jounouchi, it’s too late. He’s two hours into a chemical rut and his temperature has hit too high to administer the antidote."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys~  
> Not exactly your traditional omegaverse here; also there's a lot of omega-prejudice in later chapters, particularly to do with traditional roles in corporate pack structures. 
> 
> Some notes on in-verse language use:  
> Alpha: (when not used in conjunction with another prefixes) a werewolf gender, as per normal omegaverse rules-- knotting, dominating in bed, aggression, etc. Goes into heat - called a rut - when triggered by a potential omega's heat. [Alternative names: (affectionate) seme]  
> Beta: a werewolf gender. Neither alpha or omega, they don't go into heats and don't have the biological quirks of the other two genders.  
> Omega: a werewolf gender, as per normal omegaverse rules-- self-lubricating, unable to bear children, traditionally should be demure and nurturing, goes into heat regularly. [Alternative names: (derogative) bitch, knot-slut; (affectionate) uke]
> 
> Gamma-pack: essentially a family group, usually includes parents and siblings, can also include extended members of the family.  
> Delta-pack: essentially a "friendship" group formed by choice and association.  
> Theta-pack: a company pack. Kaiba Corp is a theta-pack.
> 
> Pack-alpha: the leader of an aforementioned pack. Does not necessarily have to be an alpha wolf, though tradition dictates it should.  
> Pack-omega: the mate of the pack-alpha.  
> Pack-beta: anyone else within the pack structure.

By the time they find Jounouchi, it’s too late. He’s two hours into a chemical rut and his temperature has hit too high to administer the antidote. 

“What do we do?” Honda asks, uncertainly. 

Jounouchi whined on the sparse bed, hips fucking against the sweat-and-pre soaked pillows. His former delta-pack, a gang of wannabe yakuza, weren’t exactly happy with him joining Yami’s new pack. The beta wolves had hunted him down that morning, and Yuugi hadn’t gotten the distress call until after lunch. 

Evidently, they’d given the blond alpha the new Heat Drug from the black markets and left him here -- to send him insane from the rut or so they could collect an omega for him, Kaiba kept his suspicions silent. The only scent in the room was Jounouchi’s arousal, thick musk in the air almost cloying from the desperation. He makes sure to breathe in through his mouth, uses adrenaline and the delta-bond to keep himself in check. 

“There’s not much we can do,” Yami says. 

He sounds tense and that’s natural, an alpha always hates the scent of another alpha’s rut. Honda and Otogi, betas by nature and hierarchy, don’t seem bothered by the scent either way. 

“So we lock him in and hope some unsuspecting bitch doesn’t come in and become his prey?” Otogi asks, pushing his sweaty fringe from his eyes. The growl he gets from Yami at his derogatory language makes him bare his neck submissively in apology. Yami shoves him away in a display of aggression and the raven-haired beta stays how far he’s pushed away. 

“That’s not going to work,” Honda admits, his voice weak and reluctant. Their pack-alpha demands an explanation from him and, with a deep breath, he explains: “in Hirutani’s delta… they call him a Lunatic.” 

Otogi inhales sharply in surprise, but Yami only frowns as if the fact hadn’t been remembered until that moment. Kaiba finds himself unsurprised, pressed against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. It’s an aggressive stance but the pack-alpha is ignoring it, circumstantially he’s sure. 

Lunatics are a rare subset of wolves; almost an urban legend. They’re said to be more intune with their inner wolves, and therefore feel the cycles more intensely than regular wolves. Lunatic omegas supposedly are violent den-mothers on the full moon, and turn into desperate knot-sluts in the waning gibbous nights. Something around seventy percent of omega pornography stars a lunatic omega character. 

Lunatic alphas however… 

Kaiba follows the pack-alpha’s movement as he checks the thermometer again, as if that’ll change the facts. “He needs an omega,” the previously silent wolf said what none of the others wanted to. 

That comment is met with silence. 

“Maybe Yuugi…” The violent snarl Yami gives Otogi has him cowering away and retreating even further back in his own volition. “Ryou then...?” 

“Bakura is still in Tokyo meeting his father,” Honda replies. “He’s got an hour, maybe two at most before he goes feral. There’s no time he’d get back here in time.” 

“Shit,” the raven-haired beta answered and frowns to think. 

Kaiba feels his pack-alpha’s eyes on him and when he meets them, the crimson intensity is unwavering--but there is a question there. 

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Honda is commiserating. “Even with the Heat Drug… alphas can’t go into rut unless they’ve scented a suitable omega. He hasn’t met anyone knew!” 

Kaiba feels his resolve wavering, the news throbbing through him. Yami’s eyes harden and he growls out: “Kaiba.” 

_Jounouchi had scented him out and cornered him against one of the trees. He looked at his pray and laughed out loud. “Kaiba?” He said. “You’re an **omega**?” He laughed again, gripping his side as it went on for too long. _

_“Keep it down!” Kaiba growled, in his best alpha voice. The one he’s had to perfect over the past six years since he first presented to all of Gozaburo’s fury._

_“That’s too funny,” the blond mutt laughed, shaking his head. “Stuck up Kaiba Seto, a weak little omega. What are you going to do? Throw a mating party and see which corporate gold-digger can get you on your back--”_

_Jounouchi didn’t get to finish his joke. Kaiba’s punch broke his jaw and within moments they were wrestling on the loam of the forest floor. They didn’t stop until the pack-alpha commanded them apart and Kaiba fled back to his house before he could face any conversation about it._

He snarls slightly in frustration. “Fine,” he snaps. “All of you get the fuck out. I’ll sort it out.” The tone of voice is all angry alpha and the beta wolves cower, going immediately to the door. 

He hears them as they head down the hallway of the shitty motel. “Guess Kaiba’s going to call some omega from his theta-pack…” 

Yami gives Kaiba a patient look. “Do you need me here to supervise and make sure he doesn’t mate you?” 

“The loser dog isn’t getting his teeth anywhere my neck,” he retaliated icily. 

Yami pauses, as if considering whether he should make a point of it, then nods his head. “Howl if you need anything. I’ll take Mokuba to Yuugi’s.” He smirks slightly, scenting the air. “You might want to wash off your alpha cologne first.” 

Kaiba glares at his pack-alpha until he leaves. He spares a withering glare at Jounouchi, who is still moaning and humping the pillow like a horny dog, before heading into the filthy motel bathroom. He has a few phone-calls to make first. 


	2. Chapter One

Kaiba isn’t exactly sure how he ended up mixed up with the dweebs in their delta-pack. It certainly hadn’t been intentional, though there was still some question over his willingness. He doesn’t really _like_ any of them, per se. Yami was his adversary, had claimed his title in the duelling championships. The betas were an annoyance, the omegas had no respect for themselves and acting like the simpering idiots omegas were ‘ _supposed_ ’ to be. Jounouchi Katsuya however. 

That loser dog made his blood boil. He was everything an alpha tended to be: brash, aggressive, getting into everyone’s business like it was his own, thinking himself top of the world simply because he had a knot on his dick. The smell of his natural alpha scent made Kaiba furious and sick. 

But slowly, between one pack battle and another, (was in Pegasus or Malik or Dartz or Touzokuou? He could hardly remember), he found himself an unofficial part of Yami’s delta-pack. Despite all his protests that he didn’t have time. He was pack-alpha of two packs already: gamma and theta. 

But his gamma-pack wasn’t large, and only included his younger brother Mokuba--who had been taken into the delta-pack with open arms. Yuugi, pack-omega, took good care of Mokuba. Better care than Kaiba himself could provide, he thought on some of his more bitter days. 

His abrasion with Yami’s delta had toned down after that. Though the pack seemed uncomfortably touchy-feely, they could better tell through the delta-bond when they were pushing his limits. He has a reluctant sort of respect for Yami. 

The pack-alpha even keeps his identity secret from the rest of the pack. His pack, along with the rest of the world, thinks Kaiba Seto is the perfect business alpha. 

“Except,” he mumbles to himself, and doesn’t finish the thought aloud. 

Jounouchi Katsuya had scented him out, in the rare moment where his engineered cologne had worn off. It was the last night of the full moon and, in anticipation of the irritation of the waning gibbous cycle, he’d been running in the forest to exhaust himself. He’d sweated off most of the cologne when Jounouchi had tackled him into a tree. 

Kaiba doesn’t like Jounouchi, and Jounouchi doesn’t like him. So why the fuck was he the one volunteered for getting the blond alpha through his chemical rut? 

The shower, and the crappy shower supplies the motel left on the sink, had washed away his cologne. The cologne that let him pass for an alpha to inquisitive noses. He was stripped of the only thing that demanded the respect from his theta-pack. 

And all because a jumped-up alpha couldn’t maintain his former pack loyalties. It’s the rules--if you leave a delta-pack, you go lone wolf, or you start your own. But Jounouchi was, apparently, a lunatic. 

They went by their own rules. 

Kaiba sighed in irritation and took another long look in the mirror. He wasn’t even turned on, let alone wet enough to be taken by a rut. An alpha who’d been in rut as long as he had didn’t spare any thought for necessary preparations. He can only hope, worn out as Jounouchi was, one knotting would be enough. 

He doesn’t fantasize much--he doesn’t have much interest in putting himself in a position where he might be exposed. Without being mated, omegas didn’t go into heats. Still, needs must. 

Moving a hand down to his soft dick, he wraps a hand around it and tugs a few times. Sensation is enough and after a few strokes he’s got a hard-on. In the other room, there’s a loud, desperate moan. 

Of course- why would the motel bother scent-proofing their rooms? He smells like what he is--turned on omega. He kicks the towel aside, and it does a little for his anger. Walking to the door, he steels himself and opens the door. 

“Omega,” the mutt’s voice is rough. It causes a little shiver of disgust down Kaiba’s spine. Jounouchi struggles into a sitting position, staring at him with eyes almost swallowed by his blown-out pupils. His dick is hard, red and angry and absolutely soaked in his own pre. All the way down to the waiting knot. 

Kaiba feels an unwilling spike of arousal at the sight of it. The alpha moans and his muscles bunch up, as if ready to pounce at him. He doesn’t particularly feel like being taken like a bitch on the floor, so he crosses to the bed and lies down. 

For a reason he can’t pick, Jounouchi doesn’t grab at him immediately. Maybe his dislike of Kaiba is enough to pierce the chemical rut taking over his brain. 

“I want this as little as you,” he tells the silent blond. 

But there’s only one way they’re getting out of this room with Jounouchi’s sanity intact. He moves his hand and squeezes his eyes shut, finding the swollen dick. He slicks up his hand with the alpha’s pre, turning on his side. He shifts one knee up to his chest and pushes one finger into himself. 

The alpha makes a low, desperate whine in his throat. Kaiba is expecting to be grabbed and impaled instantly, but he isn’t touched. Glad for it, he uses the reprieve to find his prostate and rub his fingers against it. His body sings with pleasure, burning hot within his core. The rubbing activates his dormant mucous glands and he feels his passage become slick. The right muscles became to relax--he’s a bitch ready to be fucked. 

He jumps when he feels a hand around his wrist. He turns to look before he can tell himself it’s a bad idea. 

Jounouchi is looking at his goal, licking his lips with a slimy tongue. He tugs at the wrist and Kaiba lets him pull his hand away and free his ass for the taking. He’s surprised, though, when Jounouchi doesn’t just go for it. Instead, new fingers take the place he’d just vacated. 

Through the sparks of pleasure burning through his body, Kaiba realises that he’s the one moaning. Objectively, he’d known that mating felt good. But he hadn’t been prepared for the actual sensations. 

“Omega,” Jounouchi pleads. 

Kaiba isn’t sure whether it’s the blond’s rut putting him in a wolfbrain or if he’s trying to invoke the traditional mating rituals by naming him an omega. 

But when the calloused fingers press _just right there_ , he’s moaning out the title: “alpha!” 

Jounouchi moves quickly then. He presses himself against Kaiba’s back, the head of his dick rubbing against the waiting entrance. He kisses and licks against Kaiba’s neck and that snaps the brunet out of the lust. 

“Fuck no,” he says. There’s no way he’s going to _mate_ with this idiot. He moves them. Shoving the alpha down on the mattress, his back against the sheets of questionable cleanliness, “stay” he growls. 

Jounouchi’s eyes are hazy with his rut, but he doesn’t struggle against the new position. Kaiba takes a deep breath and moves to straddle his hips. 

“I still hate you.” 

Jounouchi chuckles at that, thrusting up his hips to rub his dick against Kaiba’s waiting entrance. 

The omega closes his eyes, deciding he’s just going to focus on the sensations of his first fuck and forget just who he’s doing it with. He reaches back to hold himself open and then sinks himself down on the alpha’s erection. 

He stops as he feels the half-swollen knot pressed against his rim. The alpha’s hips twitch, trying to press it in, but Kaiba raises himself in counterpoint. He can feel his pleasure building like a fire spreading through his entire body and when he thinks he’s tipping toward the edge, he feels a warm, calloused hand encircling his hard dick. 

He moans and arches his back, feeling the knot press into him. It swells to full inside him, pressing insistently into his prostate and he comes just before he feels his alpha do the same. 

Reality crashes in immediately afterward and he opens his eyes to see Jounouchi’s ridiculous orgasm face. 

  



	3. Chapter Two

The first voice he does not want to hear when he steps out of the elevator is Daimon Kogoro, Gozaburo’s slimy former right-hand man. “You smell like a well-knotted bitch this morning, pack-alpha,” he says, inhaling the air and licking his lips in a lascivious movement. 

Kaiba makes sure his expression is flat and impassive, staring him down. The businessman is literally the last person in the world he wants to discover his real presentation. 

But evidently, he hasn’t figured that out. “Good on you, boy,” he taunts, “I was beginning to wonder if your knot had fallen off.” 

Kaiba doesn’t bother answering that. He strides past him, ignoring his omega secretary as he goes into his office. Normally he would offer her a greeting, but his dismissal succeeds in making sure that Daimon ignores her as well. The last thing he needs at the moment is the slimy alpha to get yet another sexual harassment suit. 

One of these days he really needs to do a complete overhaul of his his theta’s executive team. The entire board of Gozaburo’s yes-men can go. He smirks as he turns on his desktop, he might replace the lot of them with a bunch of omegas, watch the steam come out of their ears from fury. 

“You should get your cute little omega-secretary to fetch us some coffee,” Daimon suggested, smirking. 

Kaiba fixes him with a look that makes it clear that, A) Daimon is in no way going to be spending an extended amount of time in his office; and B) not to talk about his secretary like that. The alpha doesn’t exactly look apologetic, but he does bare his neck submissively to Kaiba. 

The pack-alpha links his fingers and stares down Daimon over the top of them. The second-in-command stumbles and trips over himself to present his morning report to his impatient boss. 

Kaiba dismisses him immediately afterward, glaring at him all the way to the elevator to make sure he doesn’t stop to harass his secretary. Once he’s safely in the elevator, he presses down the button for his intercom. “Coffee,” he demands. “Then bring me the files for today.” 

“Yes, pack-alpha,” the demure voice says on the other end. 

He sits back in his chair and rests his head against the cushioned leather. With a spare moment for his mind, it’s immediately sending itself back to the events of the morning. 

Three times. Jounouchi had knotted him _three_ times. He probably would have gone on for a fourth, but a punch to the face had cooled his ardour. Instead of fucking him again, he’d acted like an attentive alpha, wrapping him up in the sheets of the bed and _spooning_ him as they both slept. It was so degrading. 

The wake-up had been more like he’d expected. That was, Jounouchi shoved him out of bed yelling, “what the fuck” as loudly as he could. While, objectively, the previous evening had been enjoyable, that wake up certainly wasn’t. He woke up on the floor, disgustingly filthy with the mess from the previous night, to an irate blond ranting at him. 

As if it was his fault Jounouchi had gone into rut. As if… 

_“You drugged me up so you could have a good fuck? You’re disgusting!”_

_Kaiba rose to his feet, standing as if he was fully dressed in the middle of a board room about to make a company decision. “If that’s what you believe,” he said coldly. “I’ll be in the shower.”_

When Kaiba had come out of the bathroom, the motel room was empty. He spared a thought to be glad that Jounouchi hadn’t been allowed to bite him and create a proper mating bond. The last thing he needed right now was the rejection and all the physical and mental issues that came as a result of that. 

Kaiba had seen many of the omegas in his theta suffer the effects of a rejection; and he was resolved never to be in a position where he could experience the same. 

“Pack-alpha?” 

He opened his eyes and looked at his secretary standing in the doorway with his coffee and the paperwork for the day. He took a deep breath and forced his thoughts away. He had much more to worry about. 


	4. Chapter Three

Kaiba doesn’t see the rest of the delta until the second night of the full moon. He takes Mokuba out to the forest and they run in wolf-form, baying at one another and the moon shining between the trees. 

At around ten, the cub started flagging, the seemingly boundless energy actually hitting its boundary. They slow to a trot and Kaiba licks his brother’s ears. He’s about to turn home when his ears pick up a familiar howl that’s followed soon after by a half dozen more. Mokuba sits and tilts his snout up to the moon and howls back at them. 

Kaiba huffs, the closest to an irritated sigh he’s going to get in his wolf-form. He watches as Mokuba runs toward the sound of the repeated howl and follows after him at an even pace. He’s in no rush to meet up with his delta. 

They meet up with Yami and Yuugi in a clearing with a small creek and Mokuba wastes no time to run into Yuugi’s side with an affectionate growl. Kaiba wishes his wolf form could roll his eyes and goes to sit by the creek. It would be a quick escape if he needed one. 

The betas arrive, Anzu, Honda and Otogi. Kaiba tenses as he scents the next wolf coming to the clearing. He resists the growl growing in his chest, blue eyes turning to the far side of the clearing. 

Not one wolf appears, but two. There’s the shaggy blond alpha Kaiba had been dreading, affectionately nuzzling the ghost-pale omega. An angry snarl is spilling out of his jowls before he really knows to recognise the jealous. Ryou’s startled blood-red eyes turn on him and he takes a few steps away from Jounouchi purposefully. 

The rest of the delta is quiet, as if expecting a dominance battle between Jounouchi and the wolf they believed to be another alpha. Kaiba does not want to deal with any of this, so he turns and races away through the creekbed. The excitement of a chase game floods through the delta blond and he hears the pursuing howls of the game. 

He hates being the prey. He hunkers down, leaving the creek bed for a better ground for purchase. He gives them a chase, darting around to confuse his scent, more overgrown pathways. 

After thirty or so minutes, he hears Yuugi and Mokuba call off. Another fifteen and the Ryou and the betas are calling off as well. That just leaves the alphas. The only real alphas in the delta, and both who now know his pretense. He could stand to be caught by the pack-alpha. But if it’s… 

There’s a victorious howl and then he’s being pounced on, knocking him on his side and then over onto his back, exposing his vulnerable underbelly. He snarls, looking up at the shaggy blond head of Jounouchi’s wolf form. Instinct tells him to bend his neck in submission to the alpha, but he burns them away with the fire of his fury. 

Jounouchi is standing over him, panting happily like some excited dog. He burns with hatred and turns, sinking his teeth into the alpha’s foreleg. 

There’s a loud yelp of pain and Jounouchi stumbles backwards. He shifts back, human wearing only a pair of old jeans. “What the fuck, Kaiba?” He asks, grabbing his wrist to hold it as the skin knits together with supernatural healing. “You bit me!” 

Kaiba just snarls, scrambles onto his feet and then races back toward the clearing. Tired, the delta is collapsed around one another in a puppy pile. Kaiba snuggles up to his brother and closes his eyes. The cub greets him with an inquisitive lick, but settles back into his sleepy relaxation. Jounouchi pads silently into the clearing and takes his place on the other side of the pile without hesitation. His leg looks better, at least. 

The next night is the official night for delta-pack runs. The first night of the full moon is for theta-packs, if you belong to one, the second (and most important) night for gamma-packs, the third for delta-packs. Of course, if you don’t have any of the three, you’re expected to join one of the others for the nights. Less so theta packs, but gamma and delta certainly. 

Yami was out with Yuugi every night of the full moon, and usually accompanied by the whole delta. Kaiba ran with his theta on the first night, though he never let them come too close. His physical appearance, tall and lithe with muscle, passed as alpha well enough, but there was certain differences about his wolf form that could be caught by the discerning eye of his stepfather’s elite businessmen. 

“Come on, Seto,” Mokuba says, bursting into his office and hanging off Kaiba’s arm. “It’s almost moonrise.” 

Kaiba sighs. “If you want to run with Yami’s delta, you’d better come call Yuugi to pick you up.” 

Mokuba whines at that, looking upset. “Seto…? Aren’t you coming?” 

“Not tonight,” he answers guardedly. “I’m not going to run with a pack tonight.” 

His brother looks at his feet, upset, and lets go of the omega’s arm. “Okay, big brother,” he said softly. He hurries out of the room to go call the delta pack-omega and get picked up to spend the evening the rest of them. 

Kaiba had his reasons for avoiding the delta tonight. Part of it is wanting to avoid getting into a chase with Jounouchi. 

Every time they were in competition, Kaiba forced himself to run for longer than the betas. He had to be better than them, he was meant to be an alpha. Sometimes it came down to him and Jounouchi, if they were chasing Yami. Now… if that happened, if he lost Jounouchi would just blame the fact that he was an omega. If he won… well, Jounouchi was a lunatic. Who knew how he’d react to being knowingly beaten by an omega. An omega he’d _knotted_. 

That led into Kaiba’s second reservation for the evening. Tomorrow the waning gibbous started. The mating moon. Being a virgin omega had been bad enough, the moon left him with a restlessness and a low grade arousal as it was. After being knotted… well, he’s not sure how it would happen. 

He won’t go into the full heat, he doesn’t have mate. But it won’t be easy as it had been previously. So he is going to solo run all night and get rid of as much energy as physically possible in preparation for the waning gibbous. 

Yuugi comes to pick Mokuba up. Once they were well gone, Kaiba showers with his alpha-products and refreshes his cologne. Dressing in proper workout attire, he heads into the forest. He would not be shifting tonight, though his wolf itches under his skin. 

He runs around the perimeter of the forest, on ground that easier on his human knees, and well out of any pack territory. He hears the bays of packs, each one a unique frequency for their delta. His human ears can’t quite detect the differences between all of them, but when he hears Yami’s howl, he comes to a stop almost against his will. 

Seven howls in response, including the adolescent bay of his own brother. He feels the loneliness crush in his chest. He breaks into a run, still circling the perimeter of the forest, pushes himself faster than is probably healthy. 

Before he leaves his own delta territory, he feels a powerful force at his side, knocking him to the ground. He recognises the scent filling his nostrils, and delivers a swift elbow to the wolf’s snout. “I swear I’m going to rip your throat out one of these days, Jounouchi,” he snarls. 

Jounouchi grabs the cuff of his sweats in his teeth and shakes his head rapidly. His tail wags like an excited puppy. 

“Fuck off,” Kaiba growls, kicking at him with his other foot. “I’m not a toy, I’m not your prey, I’m not your damned _mate_. Get off me and go away.” 

Jounouchi just scrambles to regain his stance and grabs at Kaiba’s pant leg again, tugging at them insistently. 

“What are you even doing?” He demands, kicking at him again. “My clothes are staying on.” 

The alpha wolf growls playfully. Kaiba has had enough - kicking him away with brute force, he shifts to his wolf form and howls for Yami. He expects a fight, but the blond wolf pounces on him, tail wagging in excitement. His snout buries into the fur around Kaiba’s neck, inhaling with a pleased rumble. 

Kaiba snarls and twists his head to bit viciously at the alpha’s snout. Blood coats his teeth and Jounouchi whimpers, backing away a couple of steps. His eyes look betrayed. 

The delta bursts from the treeline, coming to stand between Jounouchi and the furious Kaiba. Most of it anyway, Kaiba notes the absence of omegas and his younger brother. They form a barrier and Kaiba shifts back, rising to his feet and brushing leaves and dirt off his workout gear. “The fuck is up with him?” He demanded. 

Honda is the one who shifts, wearing a pair of basketball shorts. “Sorry man,” he says, “Jounouchi’s gone lunar tonight. We think it’s the rut he went through--it’s too close to mating moon now.” 

Kaiba took a step back. “Keep him the fuck away from me, then.” 

Honda scents the air. “Shit man. You stink like an omega going into heat. Maybe you should’ve showered before you left your bitch’s house.” 

Three alpha growls rent the air, but it’s Jounouchi that pounces at him, teeth going for the throat. Kaiba doesn’t stick around for the rest of the pack politics, he turns and he races towards the suburbs. 


	5. Chapter Four

He wakes up the morning after the first gibbous moon with his pyjama pants soaked. He whines in embarrassment and rushes into the bathroom. He’d been dreaming, the vaguest hot sensations flooding him repeatedly throughout the whole night. 

He refused to acknowledge the figure who starred in the dreams. That was a place and a thought he was not going to entertain. He hoped that was the worst of it. Just to be safe, he was working from home for the gibbous moon. 

He washes himself clean inside and out, then doused himself in his alpha cologne. He didn’t think anyone else would be around today, but he couldn’t risk it just in case. He heads down to the kitchen and pauses as he sees the mess of his kitchen sink. “Mokuba,” he called. “Did Yuugi take you hunting?” 

“No,” Mokuba answers, coming down the stairs. “Why?” 

He picks up the...offering from his kitchen sink and takes it out to toss in the forest. He hadn’t demanded a boon from any of his theta, which left… 

Turning around, he kicks the half-naked figure by his backdoor and slams the door behind him. He does _not_ have time to deal with this right now. 

  


/ 

  


Jounouchi wakes up to a kick in his back and a door slamming next to his head. He’s on his feet instantly, prepared for a fight but slowly it sinks in that there was no one around. There’s a taunting scent in the air, but it’s looking around the nature strip before the forest that gives him the right clues. 

He’s at the Kaiba House. It’s huge by werewolf standards, but there’s no comparison to the mansion he also owns out of territory. It confuses his brain how any were can live in a house without their gamma-pack nearby. Before his own mother had broke their gamma, he and his family had lived in a one bedroom apartment. 

The cub opens the back door and looks out at him, confused. “Jou?” He asks uncertainly. “What are you doing here?” 

“Uh…” He says unsurely. He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m not really sure, cub,” he answers. “I just woke up here. I’m guessing I went a little wild last night.” 

“For…” Mokuba looks about them, and leans closer to whisper. “For the mating moon?” 

Jou blinks in surprise. “How do you know about all that, cub?” 

He pouts, glaring at him. “I may not have presented yet, but I’m not a kid! I know about mating and stuff!” 

A window upstairs shoves open and the scent of hot omega wafted down. “Mutt, leave my brother alone!” 

The scent clouds his brain, but not enough to lose his senses completely. “Jesus christ!” he snaps, “take a shower, Kaiba!” 

A paperweight is pelted at his head and shatters against the stone footpath. “Fuck off, Jounouchi!” he shouts. The window slams again and the scent blows away in the wind. 

He turns back to Mokuba and rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry cub,” he says awkwardly. “Probably shouldn’t be swearing around you.” 

“Are you going to mate my big brother?” Mokuba asks, ignoring his apology. 

Jou scowls. “I don’t think so,” he says coldly. He and the stuffy alph-- _omega_ don’t really get along. Despite how he apparently thinks when he’s moondrunk. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t sneak into the house and leave offerings in the kitchen sink then,” he points out. “Besides, Seto doesn’t even like wild boar.” 

“Oi, boar are really hard to catch!” he protests. 

Mokuba gives a smirk that is eerily similar to his older brother’s. “He’s not going to care about how tough a hunter you are, Jou,” he tells him. “He’s really not all that impressed with displays of alpha aggression and superiority.” 

“I’m not trying to court your stuffy older brother!” Jou protests loudly. 

The cub just laughs as he turns and goes back into the house. 

He grumbles in annoyance and looks down to make sure he doesn’t step in glass and spots an old tooth amongst the shards. It’s old and preserved, like the shark teeth they sell on the beach stalls and in the aquariums. 

This isn’t a sharktooth though. This is a weretooth. It’s a custom that’s fallen out of favour now, but a hundred years ago weres used to preserve any tooth they lost during battle. They’re more of an elite artefact these days, the old rich family who can trace their lineage to the old packs. It’s a status symbol, and it’s become more of a fashion trend these days. 

It goes into the pocket of Jou’s jeans pocket. If Kaiba’s tossing out his trendy knick-knacks, then it’s his loss. 

He steps over the glass shards and heads toward the forest. Maybe a run will clear his head. 


	6. Chapter Five

And because the universe hates them, Kaiba is the one who gets kidnapped next. Well, technically both the Kaiba brothers do, but Mokuba manages to wriggle out a bathroom window and hurry to safety. 

“Breaking into a fancy hotel,” Honda pants, pausing at the top of another flight of stairs, “is much harder than a shitty motel.” 

“If you don’t shut your mouth I’m going to make you run laps around the forest every night for a month,” Yami growls. 

“You could probably use the exercise,” Otogi taunts, grinning at Honda and then sprinting up the next flight of stairs. 

Anybody who said that betas weren’t competitive and it was only alphas who battled for dominance has never actually met a beta. Jou glares at them both as he runs behind them at a controlled pace, listening out for someone calling the alarm. 

Yami catches their pack-mate’s scent a few floors down from the top floor. Honda cusses out hotels that prohibit floor access unless you’ve got the right keycard, and they push through the stair doors. Something wriggles in the back of Jounouchi’s head but he ignores it, honed in on the delta-bond for the rescue mission. 

But when they burst in on the room, Honda having kicked the door in, they’re hit with the smell full in the face. _Omega in heat_ , Jounouchi’s instincts scream. 

He shudders and presses against the door, making it close and sealing off the hallway for any other alphas. 

“Holy shit,” Otogi whispers to his hunt-partner, “Kaiba’s an _omega_?” 

Jou is surprised by their their confusion for a long moment. It’s been three months since he found out and it was hard to remember sometimes that it wasn’t public knowledge. Well, of course not public knowledge--he’d probably get driven out of his theta-pack if they knew he was an omega--but even in their delta the other wolves didn’t know. 

He’s snapped out of his thoughts when two new scents come into the room--he turns to growl as two women come in to the room from the connecting suite. “Good, you’re here,” the beta woman comments, smirking at them. “You can get rid of him.” 

Yami growls and, with a gesture, the two betas incapacitate them and hold them immobile by the door they just entered. Jou presses himself against the main door, breathing through his mouth and trying to focus entirely on the delta bond. He can’t let himself focus on the smell in the air or he’s likely to lose it. _The last two mating moons have been bad enough._

“Explain yourself,” Yami demands, his voice using all of the alpha command that comes natural to him. 

“The boss wanted to force a mating bond between his daughter and Kaiba, so he can unite their theta-packs,” the beta explains, jerking her head toward the omega woman. “But I think the news that Kaiba Seto is a needy bitch will be much more beneficial to him.” 

Jou has punched her in the face, her head smacking into the wall, and knocked her unconscious before he realises he’s crossed the room. 

The omega woman screams, struggling in Otogi’s grip. 

“Jounouchi,” Yami commands in a voice impossible to disobey, “stand down.” 

He bends his neck in submission and then retreats back to the door. 

The three of them calm down the omega, and when she’s slumped in resignation, Honda glares at her and demands. “Why is he unconscious?” 

She whimpers. “She, the beta, she knocked him out once he went into a heat instead of a rut. We couldn’t do anything with him if he’s not an alpha! She hit him with the alarm clock...” 

Jou growls at that, fury boiling under his skin. 

Yami glares at him, “Jounouchi!” 

He uses the strength of the delta-bond to relax himself, folding his arms over his chest to stop himself from doing anything threatening with them. Otogi is sent to deliver the girl back to her gamma and Yami commands Jounouchi to go deliver word to Mokuba and the others that Kaiba has been found. 

He struggles with his instincts. He does not want to leave the ripe omega with another alpha, even if that alpha smells mated. But Yami uses that alpha voice again and he’s running out of the room, racing to the Mutou house. 

Mokuba is relieved to hear that his brother is safely found, but obviously worried about him being forced into a chemical heat. Jounouchi paces around the den, wanting to hear news about Kaiba’s condition. 

Eventually he notices Mokuba waving him over. He crouches down beside the cub and tilts his head in question. He feels moondrunk, and is probably on the edge of what Honda calls him being ‘lunatic’. World are too difficult to work through his sticky throat and heavy tongue. 

“If my big brother is going through a heat, doesn’t that mean he has to be knotted?” He asked in a quiet whisper. 

Jou blushes, embarrassed. He’s still not totally comfortable with the fact that the cub knows about all of this mating stuff. He nods though, in answer to the question. 

Mokuba settles him with a confused look, eyes wide like a canine puppy. “So why are you here and not helping him out?” 

Jounouchi whines a little at that. He darts his eyes towards the door and tries to shake his head free of the thought. 

“Go, Jou,” Mokuba whispers, pushing at his shoulder. “You’re better than any stranger he’ll be able to dig up.” 

Jou’s instincts don’t let him argue. He’s out the door and running before he gets a second opinion. 


	7. Chapter Six

When Kaiba comes around, his head throbbing until the supernatural healing can set in, all he can focus on is a burning desperation under his skin and the sodden sheets around his hips. “Fuck,” he groans, coming to further awareness. 

The smell of alpha - even if it’s a mated alpha - hits him before hears footsteps. He feels his internal muscles clench and release, a new load of slick running down his crack and dripping onto the mattress. 

“Fuck me,” he groans, and it’s half a plea, half a curse. He tries to reign his thoughts in, the thoughts that are reminding him _just how good_ an alpha knot feels swelling up inside him and-- clench, release, more slick mucus running down his skin and onto the mattress. “Heat drug?” He asked. 

“I found the bottle if that’ll help you.” It’s Yami’s voice. He sets something - a tray? - on the bed and takes a few steps away. 

When Kaiba manages to unglue his eyelids, his pack-alpha is sitting across the room in a cushioned armchair he doesn’t remember seeing before. Looking to his left shows a breakfast tray. There’s a water bottle from the mini bar and a glass bottle filled with a cloudy white liquid, sealed with a rubber cap for injections. 

He sits up to reach for it and freezes, moaning. The pleasure almost comes second in awareness to the sound of his voice--the rub of the sheet over his rock hard erection and his entrance against the already soaked sheets. He clenches his fists and sets his jaw, waiting for the wave of burning pleasure to pass so he can focus. 

The chemical name of the drug is written in tiny text and he wracks his distracted brain for the information he knows he has on it. 

“Fuck,” he says, flopping back on the pillows. He can do nothing but writhe for a few moments, overcome by the instincts and the heat. When his head clears, he opens his eyes to look at Yami across the room. 

The alpha is breathing with a hand pinching his nostrils together and cupped around his mouth. “Bad news?” He asks. 

“One of the few drugs that can induce a full heat in an unmated omega,” he answers sullenly. “It’s not a street drug. This is the work of a pharmaceutical theta.” 

Yami swears, and it’s such a surprise that Kaiba can only stare at him for a long moment. His rampant hormones seem to force him to see how eligible he is as a potential mate--strong, noble, and judging by the bulge of his pants has a sizeable-- 

Kaiba growls as he yanks his thoughts away from that. Yami is mated and Yuugi may be demure, like all good omegas should be, but he’s convinced the young pack-omega will break every bone in his body for daring to knot with his mate. That insane jealousy is also typical of an omega. 

“It’ll pass,” he says resolutely. “You should go, just in case. I’ll hole up in here for a few days, young can send Yuugi or Ryou can check on me…” 

Atem gives him a steady look. “Would it go easier if you had an alpha to knot you?” He asks with a calmness Kaiba envies. 

“Yes,” he says reluctantly. 

“Is there anyone you want me to--?” 

“No.” 

“If you don’t want a stranger, there’s always--” 

“If you say Jounouchi’s name right now I’m going to bite you!” 

Yami laughs but doesn’t say the joke. “Drink the water and then I’ll leave. I’ll send Yuugi to come on check on you in the morning.” 

But his traitorous, heat-fried brain is already filling the thought in. He remembers Jounouchi beneath him, the hard shaft sliding into him--his entrance clenches in desperation for it--the hands on his hips, the mouth on his neck, the perfect moment where his knot swells and-- 

With a loud cry, Kaiba comes into the soaked sheets. His face burns with shame and he clenches his jaw. 

When his head clears, he decides to be glad that Yami is no longer in the room. He hopes he wasn’t present for his embarrassing display of wantonness. 

“I don’t think that’s a word,” he mumbles to himself. He feels how dry his mouth feels, hypothesis that all of the hydration is probably soaking the sheets at this stage. 

His body has calmed a little at the orgasm. He manages to find the washing machine and dryer in a cupboard in the connected suite. He strips the sheets and sticks them in to clean, sparing a thankful thought for the plastic mattress guard that stopped him ruining the entire mattress. Next he showers to clean all the fluids from his lower body. 

It doesn’t last long. 

Before the bedsheets have even finished watching, he’s laying on a towel and shoving three fingers inside himself and whining as he remembers another night in another rented room. 

_He refused to be taken like a canine bitch, or like a knotslut on his back. But even after his thighs burn and refuse to move him to ride the alpha, Jounouchi hasn’t given up needing to knot him._

_So they laid on their side and the alpha presses up behind him, arms wrapped around the omega’s torso, finding all the sensitive spots and keeping his dick plumped up in full erection. Jounouchi licks at his neck but a furious growl keeps his teeth in check._

“Fuck,” Kaiba pants, “fuck me,” he begs the empty room. His fingers just aren’t enough and he doubts he can get his own fist in there… “Fuck,” he says again, “I need it.” 

The door directly across the room from the door breaks open with a loud crash. He swears, startled out of his lust haze for a moment. He yanks his fingers out and tries to cover himself with the towel. “What the hell, Jounouchi?” He shouts. “Did you just break the door?” 

The blond glances over his shoulder at the door and kicks it back closed with a foot. It doesn’t look any more damaged than it did previously. He shakes his head in answer to Kaiba’s question, then instead of rushing at him like he expected, he presses himself against the door and stares. 

After three months, Kaiba recognises the look in Jounouchi’s eyes, the one that means his gone lunatic--but he’s used to seeing it only on the days around the waning gibbous cycle. 

“Did Yami send you?” Kaiba demanded, glaring at him. 

Jounouchi seemed to be struggling with himself, a low whine building in his throat and his jaw twitching slightly. After a moment, he simply shook his head in answer to the question. 

“So you came on your own?” 

The blond’s expression is torn and he seems to half-nod, half-shake his head. 

“What sort of answer is that?” Kaiba growled impatiently. “Fucking idiot.” 

Jounouchi snarls in answer to that and Kaiba takes a deep breath to rein in his temper. Except inhaling turns out to be the worst choice for the moment. His nose is suddenly flooded with the scent of alpha, a familiar scent--one already associated with a satisfactory knotting. 

“Fuck me,” he moans, muscles falling lax as he slumps against the mattress. 

The lunatic alpha whines at that. 

“Not an invitation,” he pants, trying to catch his breath and ignore the slick trickling down himself. “Fuck, it’s too hot,” he commiserates. He clenches his eyes shut and hears Jounouchi’s footsteps. 

He can’t focus enough to determine where he’s going, but when he scents the alpha, _virile, aroused alpha_ , approaching the bed, he whines and spreads his legs to expose himself. There’s the noise of something being put down on the bedside table, and then he feels hands in his knees. 

He expects them to be shoved up, and feel himself being impaled and he moans in expectation, but instead he feels the hands closing his legs together. He opens his eyes and looks up at the alpha in confusion. His expression is torn, struggling with some inner turmoil. When he meets Kaiba’s eyes, he gives him a resolved nod. 

He leans over and picks up whatever he put on the bedside table. A bottle of juice. He presses it into Kaiba’s hands, and then walks to the other suite. He even closes the door behind himself. 


	8. Chapter Seven

“I don’t get it,” Kaiba whines, pressing against his side as he tries to make the bed, “I thought you were a lunatic. Why won’t you take me?” 

Jounouchi ignores it. He’s been doing his best to ignore it all afternoon. He broke the unwritten rule of their society and shifted into his wolf outside of the full moon, but it was easier to ignore the scents and instincts when he was a wolf. Despite what some weird corners of the internet seemed to think, werewolves didn’t mate with their mates in the opposite form. 

A hand moves down and rubs over his hard dick. He growls and Kaiba retreats with an offended whimper. Jou takes a deep breath through his mouth and exhales it through his nose, trying to clear his head of the scent. 

When Kaiba speaks again, flopping on the bed he’s just finished fitting with a sheet, he sounds whiny and pathetic. “I was good enough to mate with when _you_ were the one in a rut.” 

Jou rolls his eyes and wraps the other sheet around Kaiba and takes a step back. He doesn’t have an answer for that. Why did he fuck Kaiba when he was in a rut? He doesn’t remember it. Not really. 

He has vague recollections of the mating itself, but none of the circumstances surrounding it. The sweet scent of omega arousal in his nose, the hard masculine body pressed against his chest, the hot, tight, slick grip around his knot… 

“Oh fuck off!” Kaiba moans, hands disappearing under the blankets. “That’s just not fair.” 

Jounouchi blushes slightly. His arousal must’ve been in his scent. “Alrighty, I’m going,” he said, picking up the soaked towel from the floor. “No need to swear at me.” 

The alpha thinks Kaiba might be saying something snarky to that, but he ignores him and goes into the room next to this one, closing the door to seal off some of the smell. Once he’s alone and Kaiba isn’t around to judge him for it, he brings the towel up to his face and takes a deep inhale. 

Kaiba’s an asshole, but he smells good. He sits on the lounge and undoes his jeans, digging out his hard dick and giving it a long stroke. He gathers the pre from his tip and rubs it along his shaft, imagining it’s the slick of a horny omega. The scent in his nose helps the fantasy. 

He’s always had a pretty good physical imagination--it’s what makes him good at fights. He can imagine exactly how his muscles need to move, and what it’ll feel like when they do. 

So he imagines an omega straddling his lap and shoving his shoulders against the seatback, slowly sinking onto his dick. Perhaps, thanks to a little memory too, he moans as he imagines the feeling with clarity. 

“Fuck,” he groans, taking a deep breath and inhaling the rich scent of omega slick. He moves his hand down and clenches it tightly around his knot, imagining the flushed, orgasmic expression on Kaiba’s face as the knot slips inside him. He moans loudly and feels the first wave as he comes. 

His own orgasm can last fifteen minutes, he’s heard from some of the alphas in the locker room that they can go for half an hour. He doesn’t let it go on for this long tonight, loosening his fist and feeling his pleasure drop off. 

He takes a final deep breath of the slick-soaked towel and sets it aside. 

“I knew you wanted me.” 

He yelps in surprise, opening his eyes and looking for the source of the noise. Kaiba is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He’s eyeing the mess Jou has made of himself, with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Embarrassed, Jou moves the towel to cover himself up. 

“So if you want me, why are you in here knotting your fist instead of me?” He demands impatiently. 

Jou shakes his head, trying to clear his head enough. He still feels moon-drunk, but he feels like his sobering up after he’s come. He licks his lips and manages to force out a few words in answer. “That’s the heat talking.” 

It’s the heat that’s turned Kaiba into a desperate knot slut, on his back and spreading his legs for the first unmated alpha that comes along. It’s degrading and Jounouchi feels embarrassed for him. 

The omega snorts. “Of course it is. But needs must.” 

“What does that even mean?” He growls, angry at his own lack of understanding. The omega’s heat scent is starting to fill the room and it’s messing with his brain. 

“It means you don’t want to do it, but you have to,” Kaiba answers. “Just admit you want me and we can get on with it.” 

“I don’t want you.” The words are getting more difficult to say, the air is more heat scent than fresh air right now. 

Kaiba rolls his eyes. “You’re in here jerking off to my slick-and-cum-soaked towel. Of course you want me.” 

Jounouchi tried to bring together his thoughts good enough to put them in actual words. “I don’t want _you_ , I only want your body.” 

“Well lucky for you,” Kaiba said, slinking toward him, “my body’s the only thing up for grabs right now.” 

It’s awkwardly similar to Jou’s fantasy as Kaiba crosses over to the couch and kneels over his lap, smirking into his face. His hands go up to the back of the armchair, elbows bending as he leans close into his face. His dick is hard against Jou’s stomach and as he shifts, the slick entrance is rubbing against the head of his dick. It’s wet and greedy, stretched out from the hours the omega has spent filling himself with his fingers. 

“Don’t be such a limp-knotted dog, Jounouchi,” Kaiba taunts. “I need an alpha and you’ve got a knot, I remember that clearly. I _need_ your dick, Alpha.” 

Jounouchi struggles to keep his thoughts in order. “Way to make me feel like a piece of meat, asshole,” he snarls. He grabs Kaiba’s hands wrists and pulls his hands off the seat back. They stink of Kaiba’s slick and he drools against his own brain. 

Kaiba smirks and moved his hand, running his fingers over Jou’s lips. The alpha moans and takes them into his mouth, enjoying the flavour on his tongue. 

There’s a look in Kaiba’s eyes that seems familiar, that he tries to recognise with thoughts escaping like water in a sieve. It takes too long, but it finally clicks where he’s seen it before. It’s a look Kaiba gets when he’s duelling, when his plan has failed and he needs to assess the facts and work out a new strategy. 

Jou swallows nervously. He’s been pinned under that look before and it’s ended with his humiliating defeat every time. 

“Well, Alpha,” Kaiba taunts, “if you can’t satisfy me, I’ll find another alpha who _can_.” 

Jounouchi growls viciously and grabbed Kaiba’s hips, yanking him against him. “Like hell you will,” he snarled. 

Kaiba smirks and Jounouchi recognises the victory when he sees it. 


	9. Chapter Eight

Within thirty minutes, Kaiba is satisfied in both ways. His mouth is turned up in a smirk as he lifts off the alpha’s dick, raising to his feet. His knees are a little cramped from being folded up on the cushions of the arm chair. He’s been knotted now and his heat is going into the down swing of the pendulum that is his forced heat. 

Jounouchi is slumped against the armchair, breathing deeply. He looks half asleep, but Kaiba gives him the benefit of the doubt. With no rut to give him extra energy, the fifteen minute knotting has probably worn him out. 

His own lust is still a low undercurrent, but it’s easily ignored for the moment. He heads to the connecting suite, stepping into the ensuite and turning the shower on. Jounouchi was almost shamefully easy to manipulate. He put up a valiant effort, sure--those few hours he was refusing to knot him were infuriating. 

But Jou is just like any other alpha he has to deal with on a daily basis. Threaten them with competition and they’ll be tripping over themselves to prove their dominance and superiority. By very nature alphas are insecure but all act like they’re top dog. In his theta, he manages to get everything done with the help of his betas and omegas while the alpha department heads do everything but physically measure their knots. 

_Jounouchi has a nice knot_. 

Kaiba stares at himself in the mirror, his expression horrified. He shudders and shoves away the thought as far from his mind as possible. His brain is fried with heat, that must be it. He’s not actually developing soft feelings for the idiot. He _refuses_. 

He steps in the shower and cleans up literally everywhere. He’s burning up before he’s finished, thinking about the best way he can fit the alpha in here and get himself knotted. He dries off and heads out to the bedroom. There’s a low whine in his throat as the room is empty. He’s embarrassed about it, then is glad that Jounouchi isn’t there to hear him whining like a lonely bitch. 

“Ugh,” he says, disgusted with himself. He collapses on the bed and closes his eyes. He’ll rest until the heat overcomes him again. 

When he sleeps, he dreams about running the forest. It’s not unusual--statistically most weres dream in their animal forms. He’s chasing a scent, by the nature of dreamlaw, something he can’t idenitify what it is. He races faster and faster, desperate to catch what’s eluding him. 

He wakes the instant a hand closes around his ankle. He jumps in surprise, yanking his leg away from the touch. 

“Relax.” It’s Jou’s voice, in that slow laborious way he does when he’s lunatic. “You’re twitching like a puppy dreaming of the races.” 

Kaiba growls at him in a show of faux-alpha aggression. Jounouchi retreats a couple steps, still watching him. “What do you want?” 

The alpha scents the air and his face looks like he’s going through a complex maths problem. He takes a deep breath and grinds words out through his teeth: “hungry?” 

Kaiba mulls over the thought. He hums and nods, relaxing back into the soft pillows. “Yes,” he answered. “I’m hungry.” 

Jounouchi hurries out of the room. From the room next door, he hears clatter in the kitchenette, closing his eyes and sighing in irritation. Whatever the alpha is bringing him better be edible or he’s going to get kicked out of the room completely. 

The alpha’s scent precedes him and Kaiba groans, basking in the smell for a while. His instincts race ahead of his rational thought. They’re scents are mingling--Jounouchi smells like _his_ alpha. For a brief moment he’s just an omega that’s reassured his mate is going to be around to sate the heat he’s going through. 

He opens his eyes in horror as his reason catches up with the rest of his thoughts. Jounouchi is not his mate. He’s not even a _potential_ mate. He’s a convenient solution to a problem that was _forced_ on him. 

A breakfast tray settles over his thighs. “Thanks,” he mumbles reluctantly. He opens his eyes and sits up--he recognises a room service plate when he sees one. He’s glad for that at least. The clatter seems to be from the cup of tea and the glass of orange juice arranged next to the plate. 

He suddenly feels ravenous. He eats quickly, sparing no thought for table manners. When he sets down his cutlery, he looks around for the alpha. Jounouchi is pressed against the door, like he was early in the afternoon. It’s an unusual stance, not quite protective but… something like reluctance. 

It dawns on him after a moment. “Are you restraining yourself?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Jounouchi avoids his eyes as he crosses his arms over his chest. He gives a hum of confirmation but stays silent. 

Kaiba sighs in frustration. “Whatever it is you think you should be doing, just do it,” he snapped impatiently. 

Jounouchi hesitates a moment, then shakes his head. He comes to collect the tray and then hurries it off to the other suite. Kaiba doesn’t bother to argue with him. He turns on his side, clutches a pillow against his chest and closes his eyes to sleep. 

When he wakes up, there’s a hand in his hair. It’s gently smoothing wisps out of his face. He moans gently, the sensations from his scalp travelling down his spine as shivers. He presses back into the hand. “Alpha,” he moans, recognising the scent in the air. 

He’s heating up, internal muscles clenching and releasing his slick. There’s a pleased rumbling behind him and the warmth of his alpha behind him. He feels a nose scenting his neck, breath warm. He felt small kisses and reluctant licks against his neck. He wants more, knows that he needs the sharp clench of teeth in his neck. 

He moans at the very thought, releasing what feels like a flood of slick. “Need you, alpha,” he moans, pressing back against him. 

He hears the reassuring growl of his alpha and when the rough hand slides down to his knee, he easily lets it manoeuvre his leg up. There’s blunt pressure at his entrance, but much smaller than he needs. His alpha’s fingers slip in, torturing him with the pleasure of his prostate. 

He’s begging, not entirely aware of the words he’s using. But he’s left unsatisfied. “Knot me!” he snarls. 

It takes a few moments for him to realise the huff he gets in response is a laugh. He growls in irritation. 

He turns and pushes his alpha onto his back, shifting one leg over so he’s lying on top. He rubs his throbbing dick against his alpha, moaning. He feels hands come up to cup both of his buttocks, groping them eagerly. When the fingers slip back towards his entrance, he growls angrily. 

“I don’t want your fingers,” he snaps. “I want your knot.” 

The growl he gets in response is playful and challenging. He takes it for the taunt it is, shifting down, he impales himself on his alpha’s dick. He moans in gratification, rubbing against the knot at his rim. 

Warm hands stroke their way up, holding his hips. They hold him in place as his alpha withdraws from him. Kaiba growls possessively and jerks his hips back, impaling himself again. It strikes just right and he moans loudly, the wave of pleasure making his muscles loose and heavy. 

He leans against his alpha, burying his face in the sweaty neck and groaning. The push and pull of their mating continues. He pants and mouths at his alpha’s neck, feeling his pleasure spiral higher and higher. 

“Yes,” he moans, “I need it. Knot me, alpha.” 

There’s a desperate moan in answer and with a forceful buck of his hips the knot bursts in and swells to lock inside him. He cries out with his own ecstasy, clenching his teeth around the soft neck of his alpha. 

He simmers with a pleased satisfaction and shifts into a more comfortable position. He turns them so they’re on their sides and he rests against the pillows. He wraps his legs around the slender waist and nuzzles into the neck again, preparing to sleep. 

He’s warm and content, wrapped up with his mate in the aftermath of his heat. Something worries at the back of his mind, but he ignores it. Now is the time for rest. Anything else can come later. 


	10. Chapter Nine

Kaiba gasps and tilts his head back, raising his hips again. The head of Jounouchi’s dick sits just inside his rim. But it stays there until he begins to lower himself back down. They’ve been doing this for hours now and the alpha is nearly passed out from exhaustion. 

He breathes deeply, moaning most of it out as he sinks back onto the alpha’s dick. He feels the knot pressing against him, waiting to be put to purpose. But he’s not quite there yet. This is all a lot less fulfilling when his partner is too wrung out to do much more than moan and take it. 

He thinks it'll be over soon--the last wave of heat wasn't quite so overwhelming. Not to mention he feels as if he finally has a grip on his own sense of mind back.His neck aches from the awkward position it's in and he lowers his head back. 

His eyes skate past the places he refuses to look -- the flushed, slack expression of the alpha, or the slick neck he now knows tastes like nothing but sweat. He lets his eyes linger on the muscular chest, resting his hands on the solid pecs as he grinds against the knot to test if he can take it yet. 

After a moment, he feels hands hands coming up to grip his hips. 

His eyes dart up to Jounouchi’s face and he finds the alpha looking up at him, eyes concerned. “You sure you’re okay?” He asks. “You feel swollen.” 

“It doesn’t hurt,” he says quietly, “don’t worry about that.” 

The alpha sighs. There’s a look in his eyes Kaiba refuses to analyse. He turns his face away. He feels a hand wrapping around his dick in a loose sort of fist. “Your heat is simmering down,” he says. “This might be the last knotting for this cycle.” It might be the longest sentence he’s heard Jounouchi say the entire time they’ve been here. He must be pulling back from his lunatic state. 

“The last knotting we’ll have,” he comments. He meant the words as an optimistic promise, but he felt a twist in his chest at his own words. He burned with fury at the feeling, using the burst of energy to slam his hips down and take the knot fully. 

“Fuck!” Jounouchi yells. He hunches up over his own torso, face twisted in pain. Not ecstasy. “That hurt,” he whines, even as the grip around his knot triggers his orgasm. 

It had. He wasn’t close enough to his end for the knot, but he’d wanted it over and done with. He loses his erection , and it’s as much of a sign of the ended heat as his own clear head is. 

The alpha collapses back on the mattress, muscles giving in. Kaiba swallows a throat full of bile as his eyes lock on the one thing he had wanted to ignore. The bite on Jounouchi’s neck. The _mating_ bite. 

The knot only lasts ten minutes this time. The alpha pushes at his hips to make him get off. “We need to talk about your aggression issues,” he mutters, rubbing at his deflated knot. 

“We?” Kaiba repeats coldly. “There is no _we_ , Jounouchi.” 

“But…” The alpha looks confused. Betraying the line of his thoughts, the calloused fingers on his left hand reach up to touch the bite. 

Kaiba wants to slap his hand away. “The last twenty-four hours never happened,” he growls at him. His voice is unyielding. “Anything that happened is now null and void.” 

“Kaiba,” Jounouchi growls, his fists clenching. “You mated me!” 

“Shut up!” he snaps. “You smell like me, I was drugged, and half asleep!” He finds his clothes folded on the armchair and started pulling them on. “Omega only go into heat when they have mates--or at least they do under normal circumstances. I’m sorry I bit you. I was acting on a purely instinctual level.” 

Jounouchi must understand that. He’s a lunatic after all. 

The alpha doesn’t answer. He rubs at his neck, sitting on the side of the bed. His own clothes are a tangled, wrinkled mess on the floor. He dresses quickly and starts lacing up his running shoes. 

He raises to his feet and heads towards the door, silent and angry. The worst part is, Kaiba can feel the anger as if it’s his own. Even if he was the one that made the mating bond, he’s the one that’s going to suffer through the withdrawals over the next week. He’s the one doing the rejecting, but he’ll be the one feeling the rejection. 

He remembers his resolution, the day after he’d worked Jounouchi through his own rut, to never be in a position like this. But now he was, and it was his own fault. 

“Are you going to Yuugi’s?” Kaiba asks, before Jounouchi left the room. 

The alpha pauses, turning to glare at him over his shoulder. “That was the plan, yeah,” he answers coldly. “Why? Are you going to forbid me from going near your brother?” 

Kaiba clenches his jaw, narrowing his eyes at him in a glare. “No,” he says angrily. “I was going to have you ask our pack-omega to bring him home. Forget it, I’ll call them myself after my shower.” 

He fishes an emergency vapouriser of his alpha-cologne out of a concealed pocket, then sprays the main scent glands to cover himself up. 

Jounouchi’s hands clench into fists and Kaiba feels a stab of jealousy from him. It’s irrational and instinctual--his mate suddenly smells like another alpha. He understands, but he still sneers at the alpha until he leaves the hotel room. 

The first stab of rejection comes as a dull thunk in his chest. 


	11. Chapter Ten

“I’m just saying,” Yami says, “if the bond hasn’t broken by the end of the full moon, Kaiba’s going to go into heat.” 

“I get you,” Jou says impatiently. “I just don’t know what you expect me to do about it. He practically kicked me out of bed before the sheets were cold.” 

“As your alpha I recommend you take responsibility for your mate and be prepared to see him through the mating moon,” he comments, in that grand voice of his. But then he sighs and nudges at his shoulder in a friendly way. “As your friend, I think you should go and visit him, see how he’s going.” 

“He won’t want to see me,” Jou answers, rubbing at his neck. The healing skin of his bite is extra sensitive and he shivers a little. “He made that clear.” 

“I suppose you’ll see him on pack night,” the pack-alpha comments, “we’ll all see how it’s going then.” 

“You’re twisting my arm here, Alpha,” he complains, huffing at him. 

“I could do more than that,” Yami replies. He folds his arms, and somehow manages to look _down_ on Jou even though he is at least half a foot shorter than him. “Mokuba will need picking up from school in twenty minutes. I am electing you to walk him.” 

Jou sighs. His fingers reach up to fiddle with the tooth on the end of his chain. He used to wear his dad’s old army dogtags but one too many dog insults had him trading them out for the latest fashion trend. There was already a hole drilled into the bone, so it was easy to pull the old ball-chain through them. He felt better not giving up his dad’s tags entirely. 

“Do I get a choice?” He mutters unhappily. 

“Yes,” Yami says, smirking. “You can pick Mokuba up from school or you can spend all night running the borders of our territory every night until the full moon.” 

“You’re really busting my balls, Yami,” Jou groans. “Fine. I’ll go walk the cub home.” He folds his arms, feeling a sulk coming on. “But if Kaiba bites my head off I’m coming back from the dead to haunt you.” 

The pack-alpha shakes his head in amusement. “I’ve already dealt with the consequences of him biting you once. Still am.” 

Jou blushes and reaches up to touch his neck. “Shut up,” he says lightly. “I’ve got a cub to pick up, don’t I?” 

He goes to the creche and lurks outside for the younger Kaiba to come out. He does, shortly after the bell. 

“Jounouchi!” Mokuba greets, smiling up at him. 

“Hey cub,” the alpha greets, taking the young wolf’s bag and tucking it over the shoulder. “Yami sent me to walk you home.” 

“That’s cool,” Mokuba agrees, swinging his arms as he walks. “Yami doesn’t usually drop me off at the office. I think it’s ‘cause he doesn’t want to challenge Seto’s authority as theta-alpha. Yuugi usually walks me on office-days.” 

Jou realises that he’s taking Mokuba to his brother’s office, not home. He swallows a little. Maybe he’ll get away with not seeing Kaiba today. 

“Hey Jou?” Mokuba asks uncertainly. 

“Yeah, cub?” 

“Can I ask a question?” 

“Sure thing,” he says, smiling. 

“How come you’re the one with the mating bite?” Mokuba asks. Jounouchi stares at him, not sure how he should answer that. “I mean, it’s supposed to be the alphas who bite the omegas, isn’t it?” 

The alpha licks his lips, giving himself time to come up with an answer. “It’s not always…” He sighs. “I mean, ideally both partners bite each other. Yuugi covers his up with the collars, but I know Yami has a bite somewhere too.” 

“Seto doesn’t have a bite,” Mokuba says, looking down at his feet. 

“Your brother isn’t my mate, cub,” Jou answers gently. He gestures at his neck. “This wasn’t meant to happen. He did it in the heat of the moment.” 

“Is that why he’s sick?” Mokuba asks in a small voice. 

“What do you mean, cub?” The alpha asked, frowning slightly. 

“He’s sleepy all the time, and sad,” he murmurs quietly. “He tells me not to worry about it, but I do.” 

Jou sighs. “He’s probably in bonding withdrawal,” he explains gently. “Really slows down an omega’s system for a while.” 

“And he got that because you rejected him?” Mokuba asks, frowning up at him in disapproval. 

The blond shakes his head, sighing. “Your big brother made it clear this was a mistake for him. Nine out of ten times, yeah, it’s the alpha that ditches the omega after a mating. But give him the credit for his own decisions. _He_ rejected _me_.” 

The cub is silent for most of the trip. Once they get to the theta-house, Jou whistles, looking up at the tall building made of glass and steel. “Nice den,” he comments. “Your brother does well by his theta.” 

He drops his eyes back down and saw Mokuba half-way through the lobby. He rolls his eyes a little, readjusts the backpack on his shoulder. He goes after the cub, catching up to him by the time he gets to the elevator. 

“You forgot your bag, cub,” he points out. 

“You’ve got my bag, Jou,” Mokuba answers, smiling. He swipes a card once they’re in the elevator, pressing the button for the topmost floor. 

“Mokuba,” he says quietly, “your brother doesn’t want to see me.” 

The younger Kaiba doesn’t answer. When the elevator opens, there is only two people visible in the large, open office. An omega secretary and a beta paper-pusher, murmuring to each other. “You sure it’s his mate?” The omega was whispering to the beta. 

“It’s gotta be. He’s got a bite-mark and he’s walking with the Kaiba cub.” 

“Hi guys!” Mokuba says loudly. The two workers act as if they weren’t talking about them as they walked in, and believably too. “Jou, you can take my bag in to Seto’s office. That’s fine, right?” He asks the secretary. 

She smiles and nods. “Alpha is just doing paperwork. He should permit an interruption now.” 

Jou just bows his head and walks past them to the big door he assumes is Kaiba’s office. He closes the door behind him and frowns as he sees the large glass desk across the room empty. He scents the air and, setting down Mokuba’s bag by the door, he crosses to the smell of omega. 

As he gets closer, the specifics of the smell become clearer. There’s still that infuriating chemical alpha smell that Kaiba douses himself in regularly, but it must have been a while because it’s a fading scent. Beneath that, there’s the rich sweetness of Kaiba’s natural omega scent. 

But it’s souring and when he finally spots Kaiba he begins to understand why. The omega is definitely in withdrawal. He remembers the smell from his childhood, the sour smell of rejected omega that was quickly drowned out by alcohol. 

Kaiba is pale and looks gaunt. He’s stripped down to his suit pants and an undershirt, and his body looks like it’s wasting away. He looks exhausted, even though he’s fast asleep. The posture is most telling -- he’s sleeping on his side, knees hugged up to his chest. A thin, decorative blanket is pulled half-over his shoulder. 

It’s only been five days. Even closer up, Kaiba still smells like him. 

If he tells himself the truth, it’s a little gratifying. He tries to shove away the feeling. Kaiba is not _his omega_ , he’s just a pack member that he helped through a heat; and who helped him through a rut. Who he accidentally bonded with and put through withdrawal. 

He sighs, and realises his hand is stroking through the soft brown hair. Blue eyes are open and watching him. He pauses, embarrassed, and withdraws his hand. 

One elegant, long-fingered hand tugs up the blanket over his bare shoulder. “Yami needs to stop trying to meddle,” he mumbles sleepily. “Did you get Mokuba from school?” 

“He’s outside with your secretary,” Jou says. He licks his lips, concerned. “Has the nausea passed yet?” 

Kaiba shakes his head. 

“Have you managed to eat in the past couple days?” He asks. 

“I had some soup last night and dry toast this morning,” the omega answers, closing his eyes again. Jou’s hand is raising up and stroking through the soft hair before he thinks about it. He realises it might not be his desire to comfort him that’s coming through the bond, but rather Kaiba’s want of attention. “I’m supposed to be doing paperwork.” 

“I don’t know how you manage to come it at all,” he admits. “When my mother left, my dad couldn’t get out bed for a week.” 

Kaiba opens his eyes to look at him. “How long did he take?” He asks in a low, desperate voice. The thought is clear in his eyes: _how long do I have to go through this?_

Jou sighs heavily. His father never recovered, really. “My mother mated him when he first got out of active service,” he answers in a hesitant voice, “they were together every day for ten years.” 

“Just tell me, Jounouchi,” Kaiba growls impatiently. 

“Well. After a month he started drinking instead,” he says in a low voice. “At least until he volunteered for service again.” 

“Is he still…?” 

Jou sighs. Reaching up a hand, he fiddles with the toot on his dad’s chain. “They sent me his tags a couple years ago.” 

Kaiba gives a short, sharp inhale. Jou wonders how much is his genuine pity and how much of himself is spilling over the bond. “Your mother, is she…?” 

He shakes his head. “She lives in America with my sister. Has a new omega and everything.” 

“And you? Your gamma…” 

“Just me,” he says with an easygoing smile. “Gamma of one.” 

There’s a long silence between them. Jou wonders where Mokuba has gotten to. He sighs, and remembers the conversation he was having with his pack-alpha earlier. 

He sighs. “Look, Kaiba,” he says quietly. “It’s five days until the mating moon. If you’re not through the withdrawal by then…” 

“What are you trying to say, Mutt?” The omega growls. 

“If you go into heat, I’ll go into rut,” he answers. “Do you want to help each other through that?” He pauses, and adds hurriedly: “if it happens.” 

“I can’t think about it,” Kaiba answers impatiently. He turns over onto his other side, turning his back on Jou. 

“We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it, I guess,” he says, getting slowly to his feet. 

“That’s not how that saying goes,” Kaiba grumbles, and closes his eyes. 

Jou shakes his head. “Alright. Enjoy your nap, Kaiba. See you on the full moon.” 


	12. Chapter Eleven

Kaiba opens his eyes as he felt a tug on his ear. It takes a moment to sink in where he is. 

It’s gamma-night and he is as exhausted as ever. The waning gibbous moon was in two days and he isn’t doing much better at all. The nausea had passed this morning and though his appetite had recovered, he hadn’t had the energy to make proper food for himself. He’s too weak to handle Mokuba by himself for the gamma-night, so he joined his delta for the night. 

He’s broken out of his thoughts at another tug on his ear. He growls in warning, curling up closer to Mokuba. The blond wolf just tugs at his ear again. Kaiba snarls in warning, and gets his brother’s paws kicking at his stomach in irritation. 

He huffs and heaves to his feet. Jounouchi nudges him encouragingly and he resigns himself to following after him. Slowly, he’s able to break into a run, and then they’re running together in a circuit around their delta territory. When they stop, it’s at a deep creekbed. Jounouchi jumps in the water to splash around and Kaiba huffs at him, sitting under a tree and watching him in the moonlight. 

As the alpha continues to play in the water, Kaiba lies down and closes his eyes to rest again. 

_“The staff is all abuzz with the news of your omega, Alpha,” Daimon said, coming into his office unannounced._

_Thankfully Kaiba was having one of his energized periods and was behind his desk, signing important paperwork. He looks up as is 2IC enters, giving him a dull look. “I’m sure you have a reason for disturbing me, Daimon.”_

_He had brought up more paperwork for him to sign, but while he supervised that, he continued to solicit Kaiba for gossip. “Where’d you find a tight-assed bitch like that?”_

_“Beta,” he said coldly, “do I have to harangue you into yet another sexual harassment seminar?”_

_“I’m just trying to learn about our future pack-omega,” Daimon replied, with a lecherous smirk._

_“Even **if** I was entertaining serious intentions towards him,” Kaiba answered curtly, “there is no reason that he’ll be involved in my theta-pack.” _

_“Theta-wolf, not one to mix business and pleasure,” the alpha says, smirking. “Wouldn’t a mating bite make your bitch think you had serious intentions?”_

_“How many of my secretaries have you bitten, Beta?” Kaiba asked curtly._

_Daimon laughed. “You always acted so moral about the matter. It’s good to see you’re just like the rest of us when it comes down to it.”_

_Kaiba glared at him. “I am nothing like you,” he answered curtly. “I left my partner with no delusions about my intentions of keeping them on. That is where you and I differ, Beta.” He closed the leather folio and handed it back to him. “Get out of my office, Daimon.”_

_The alpha laughed as he took it. “Maybe you should keep your bitch around for a while longer so you can fuck out a bit of your aggression, Alpha.”_

_“Get the hell out of my office, Daimon!”_

He’s brought out of his recollection by another insistent tug at his ear. He growls and opens his eyes to glare at the blond wolf. 

Jounouchi is standing in front of him, his tail wagging in eager excitement. He leans down and nudges something towards Kaiba. He sniffs slightly, then narrows his eyes to look down at the fish. The alpha has caught him a fish. 

Jounouchi huffs and nudges the fish towards him. _Just like sushi_ , he tells himself resolutely, then leans forward and snaps up the fish. The alpha makes a pleased rumble and curls up at his side. Kaiba growls at him in warning, but doesn’t have the energy to force him away. His appetite has been whetted now, and he feels the emptiness in his stomach like a black hole. 

With an unhappy whine, he shifts to his feet and heads to the creek. He sits on the bank and leans over to inspect the water for fish. 

Just as he thinks he spots something flashing in the moonlight, there’s a rush of motion beside him. He recoils as water splashes up and strikes him in the face. He backs away with an angry growl. The alpha puts his paws up on the bank long enough to drop a flopping fish between his paws, then goes back to splashing around. 

Kaiba waits until the wriggling has stop, and then snaps it up just as quickly as the last. The alpha keeps fishing until he nudges the last fish back at him. Then he climbs out of the creek, shakes himself rid of any water in his fur, and eats the fish for himself. Feeling a little benevolent, he leans forward and rubs his face against the alpha’s neck. 

Jounouchi rumbles happily and arches his neck to let him. 

Kaiba tenses as he realises that, comparitively, he’s just nuzzled himself against the mating bite. He pulls away and turns, walking back to the glade where the rest of the pack is gathered. Mokuba is play-fighting with Ryou and Anzu, practicing evasion techniques. 

He huffs in relief and goes to relax by the other betas. Tension immediately swells, however--he realises he’s sat where he usually does, between them and the pack-alpha. He’s always sat there, but he’s been outed as an omega now. 

Otogi stands up and growls in his direction. The power play has began. All the other wolves are staring, but Kaiba acts like he hasn’t even noticed the display of dominance. Otogi approaches him, standing over him, and growls in an attempt at intimidation. 

Kaiba gets to his feet. His wolf form is still taller and longer than Otogi is. He gives a warning growl, telling him to stand down. The beta doesn’t even have to show submission to him, he just has to back down. But he doesn’t. He steps up to Kaiba’s personal space and bares his teeth, snarling at him. 

He is _too tired_ for a proper ranking battle. If he loses to Otogi, he has to fight Honda. If he loses to Honda he has to fight with Ryou--who might throw the battle, but might want to overtake him in the omega ranks. 

He’s ten days into a bonding withdrawal, full of the first good meal he’s had in that time, and exhausted from running his theta during that time. He’s in no state to be battling for a rank. 

So he turns his back on Otogi and walks away. Hopefully the beta will accept the rejection for now and they can fight this out properly next month. 

He isn’t so lucky. The beta snarls at him and runs at him, tackling him. 

Kaiba can’t back out from a direct confrontation. He’s not bending to this asshole. He’s always been what he is, just because Otogi’s perception of him has changed doesn’t make a damned difference. 

He snarls back at him and they struggle against each other, teeth gripping fur and back legs kicking at each other. Kaiba feels his fur wrench out and his flesh tear open. He slips back into his human form, which is usually a signal for a time out. 

Otogi isn’t co-operating. Sure enough, he shifts too, but then there’s punching and kicks. “Stupid fucking bitch!” he snarls, trying to grab at Kaiba’s har and wrench his neck into a submissive neck. “Learn your fucking place, knot-slut!” 

“ **Enough**!” 

Otogi freezes instantly. Kaiba kicks him off and gets to his feet, muscles trembling at the effort of pulling himself upright. 

It is rare that Yami needs to pull rank, and rarer still that he needs to physically discipline any of them. He approaches Otogi and kicks him onto his knees, pressing his foot on his head and forcing it into the dirt. The forest around them is dead silent. Most of the pack is human, but Jounouchi and Mokuba are still shifted, the former with his teeth around the cub’s ruff to keep him incapacitated. 

As Jounouchi notices his attention, he sets the cub back down. Mokuba shifts and runs up to his brother. Kaiba catches him in muscles that scream in protest at the exertion, but he refuses to let himself down. He bows to Yami politely, but then he turns his back--on the alpha, and on his delta-pack. 

He doesn’t remember the walk home. He remembers collapsing in the doorway, panting heavily. Mokuba is sniffling, but Kaiba can’t do anything else but hug him close and provide what little comfort he can. 

“It’s going to be just us again for a while, cub,” he murmurs quietly. 

His brother clutches close to him, and they stay there all night. 


	13. Chapter Twelve

Kaiba is in a board meeting when it hits. He takes his phone out of his pocket and pretends to check a text message. He doesn’t even wait for Otaki to finish his sentence. He gets to his feet and the room falls silent. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, my omega has just gone into heat. I call this meeting adjourned and we will continue in the next moon phase.” 

Daimon smirks at him lasciviously. “Enjoy your mating, Alpha. Hope that pretty blond doesn’t wear you out too much.” 

The other alphas on the board chuckle amongst himself, giving each other knowing looks. He cuts them all down with an icy expression. “If you need me, I’ll be available by email.” 

He strides out of the room. Once he’s alone in the elevator, he douses himself in his alpha cologne again. As long as it stays until he can get home… 

He shudders and tries to control his reactions. He’s got no delta to help him, and he can’t trust anyone in his theta right now. How is he supposed to get Mokuba from the creche? He runs, trying to turn the desperation and lust burning through his veins to the energy he’s been lacking for two weeks. 

He runs directly into Jounouchi, whose nostrils flare and eyes go wide. “Kaiba…” He begins. 

The omega whines and shoves him away, pushing past him to get home. He locks himself in his bedroom, and he pulls his suit off. 

He has fingers in himself and is coaxing himself to orgasm before he’s properly undressed. He stares at the pants hooked around his ankle as he fights against memories and fantasy to force himself through the first wave of his heat. 

He comes quickly, then he spends a few minutes fighting to repress the kaleidoscope of emotions that wash over him. He manages to grab his jacket and dig out the mobile phone from his pocket. 

His hands shake as he scrolls through the find the number of the creche theta. Every time it rings, he feels his anxiety building. After four, the omega picks up. 

“This is Kaiba Seto,” he tells her. “I’m incapacitated at work at the moment, so--in regards to Mokuba’s collection--” 

“Oh, it’s alright dear,” the woman says, a smile in her voice. “Your mate has just come by to pick him up.” 

Kaiba swallows. The creche omega is one of the few people who knows his true orientation. She was there when he presented, after all. He thanks her, and hangs up the phone. 

He cleans himself up. He puts thick thick clothes on. It’s not going to be enough, but it’s an effort. He goes to the back door and opens it as soon as he hears Mokuba chatting as he walks up from the treeline. 

His scent hits Jounouchi hard enough that he stops still in his track. His nostrils flare, his eyes darken. He looks ready to pounce… but then he exhales and his posture eases. He sets down Mokuba’s backpack. 

The cub moves past them both into the house, shaking his head in… bemusement or amusement, he’s not sure. He can’t focus on his younger brother with his alpha standing _right there_. 

“I didn’t think…” Jounouchi licks his lips. “You wouldn’t have asked any of the others to pick up the cub today…” 

Kaiba nods. “Thank you. I didn’t think it would hit so early today. Are you…?” 

Jounouchi shakes his head. “I won’t go into rut until moonrise.” 

The words cause a flood of desire and the rise of memories. Kaiba suffocates the moan in his throat and flushes in embarrassment as he feels slick leak out of him. 

The alpha groans like he’s been hit. “Kaiba,” he says, his voice half-choked. “If you need me…” He trails off. 

“The bond was supposed to be broken now,” the omega says, feeling defeated. “I wasn’t meant to go through it again.” 

“It’s not your fault,” Jounouchi speaks in a gentle voice, stepping closer. He stops and then seems to be restraining himself. “It should be a full moon-cycle between mating periods,” he continued, “the hormones are all wrong. I can help you out of this heat, and you can go through this properly…” 

“I can’t.” Kaiba is embarrassed to hear himself sobbing. “I can’t go through two more weeks of withdrawal. It feels like I’m dying. I’ve been dying for weeks and I can’t do it again right now.” 

The alpha gave a sigh. His fingers came up to rub at the mostly-healed bite mark on his neck. “Alright Kaiba,” he says in a low voice. “Go lock yourself up.” He steps back, moving past the backpack on the nature strip. “I’m going now.” 

Kaiba nods, clenching his jaw to stop himself from begging him to come back and see him through his heat. They stare at each other for long moments, and then the alpha turns on his heel and races back into the forest. 

The omega grabs his brother’s backpack and goes back inside the house. 

Mokuba is sitting at the kitchen bench, watching him. “You’re both idiots you know,” he commented, chewing on a snack bar. 

“What makes you think that?” Kaiba asks, tossing the bag for him to catch. 

“You and Jounouchi.” 

“Yes, I assumed that was who you meant.” 

“You don’t have to either suffer through your heat alone now or go through withdrawal in a few days. There is a third option.” 

Kaiba gives his brother a tired, blank look. “We all know that’s not an option, Mokuba.” 

Mokuba rolls his eyes, and they don’t say anything else on the matter. 

  


  
END OF ARC 1  



	14. Entr'acte

Mokuba presents as beta. The night of the new moon is the night of his ceremony. The other cubs who presented that month have their ceremony on the following night, as is traditional. They’ve never really been a traditional gamma however. According to the gossips in the lower ranks of his theta, it’s just him demonstrating his wealth and influence again: 

_“Why else would he choose his own night for it?” A beta murmured, when she thought he wasn’t walking by. “Than to just prove he can get the world to spin as he wishes it to?”_

_The group of them fell silent as he entered the break room. He smiled to them all politely as he handed out the personalised invitations to attend the ceremony. He doesn’t hear them whispering about the matter again._

Other than the entirety of their theta-pack, Kaiba knows no one else to invite. Mokuba personally delivered invitations to the delta pack they’d once held allegiance to. It’s a much of a message as Kaiba understands it to be: Mokuba intends to join Yami’s delta once the ceremony is over. 

The young beta is in an interesting position. Technically, since he went with Kaiba to Yami’s delta so he owes no loyalty to him. When he had said as much to his brother, Mokuba merely rolled his eyes and answered: “you don’t get it, Seto.” 

For the afternoon ceremony, Kaiba is wearing his best suit. He hopes he can look impressive enough, since he will be the only person sitting in one third of the rotunda. The Kaiba theta will fill another third, and Yami’s delta will fill the last. Likely only the executives of his theta-pack will show up, but he’s sure the entirety of Yami’s delta will. 

There will still be more attendees than Kaiba’s own presentation ceremony. Secrecy had been the utmost at his own--for no one was allowed to know that Gozaburo’s adopted son and named theta-heir was an omega. After that, the old bastard started investing resources in medical and pharmaceutical theta packs. Anything that could change or hide Kaiba’s true nature from any other pack. 

They’d got as far as his alpha cologne before Kaiba had pulled a power play in the theta and had the major pack-betas transfer their allegiance to him. The ensuing dominance battle had solidified Kaiba’s reputation as a power-hungry alpha and pushed Gozaburo down the ranks until the first omega in his pack (other than Kaiba himself) defeated him. Then he took himself to the forest and succumbed to his injuries. 

Mokuba’s ceremony and his transition into the adult world of weres and packs will be easier on him, Kaiba will make sure of that. He plans to make Mokuba his theta-heir, but they’ll discuss that first. He won’t force his brother into anything he was forced in to. 

The moves through the house and out the door, into the forest and heading to the very centre of the forest. The formal territory rotunda is already populated with some people he recognises from the theta. More people had come than he expected. 

He goes into the first entrance, the one for the gamma-pack of the ceremonial guest. There is no one else there. He sits on the ground right by the dias, nodding politely to Yami and the rest of the delta. There’s the noticeable absence of a shaggy blond head of hair. 

He’s disappointed for Mokuba’s sake. 

He remarks as much to Yami, while they open the feast by eating before the rest of their packs. “Mokuba was hoping that Jounouchi would come to his presentation,” he said quietly. 

Yami hummed. “There’s still the midnight run,” he suggested. “We haven’t seen him human for years,” he added in a quieter voice. “Honda is concerned he has gone full lunatic.” 

Kaiba frowned slightly, eating his plate. Perhaps he ought to have checked up on his former delta packmates in the past few years. Still, something about the alpha’s phrasing bothers him. 

He finishes his plate, and there’s no one else in his gamma, so he takes a plate to Mokuba. Then he stands by his theta, then goes to make another plate. That, he hands to Mokuba as well. An angry murmur ripples through the theta--he’s just demonstrated that Mokuba is his second. He turns and meets Daimon’s eyes, see the fury there. He meets his eyes unaffectedly. His message has been made clear. 

After Yami hands a large plate to Yuugi, the rest of the guests are able to grab their own food. Kaiba goes to sit by Mokuba, who is laughing and talking with the other betas in the delta. 

He refuses to even acknowledge Otogi’s existence. He was the beta that forced Kaiba out of the delta after all. He'd been growing comfortable with the delta, having the security of a third pack. He couldn't trust any of his theta with Mokuba's safety. There was no one else in their gamma. A few times in those early days of the separation he'd thought about securing a partner who would be able to take care of the domestic gamma duties. Bonding for convenience... 

Except there was no way he'd be able to convince an omega to bond with him; and no alpha would submit to being the gamma's pack-omega. So he had forged on alone, neglecting his theta duties where necessary for Mokuba's sake. Over the years he's received compliments from hopeful omega and proud betas that he was commendable for playing the role of an omega while also handling his pack-alpha responsibilities. Too many times it had been followed by sneers about the pack's omegas who worked instead of settling down with a nice alpha and tending to the gamma. 

He smiles bitterly, looking down at his empty hands. How the tides would change if it came into public knowledge that's had been an omega his entire career. 

"Seto," Mokuba says quietly. He's leaning over to murmur in a quiet voice. "Yami and the others are taking me back to their den for a small private celebration," he continues. 

It's not a question. Kaiba sighs. Mokuba's instincts will be worse now. He knows his brother is an omega. Has almost always known it. He'll listen to Kaiba as far as he wants to, in deference to his role as leader of his theta and gamma packs. But his own decisions, and anything to do with the delta... 

He looks up and meets Yami's scarlet eyes. There’s something expectant in his look, but Kaiba turns his face away with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, sure Mokuba,” he answers. “You’re an adult wolf now. You can choose when you go places.” 

Mokuba’s face shifts into a confused frown, but Kaiba elects to ignore it. He sits silently, watching his brother interact until the last omega has finished eating their fill. There’s still plenty, so Kaiba heads to start packing it up. He’d donate the rest to the creche. The groups begin to head out. 

It’s still hours until midnight yet, when the midnight run begins. Most of the theta will be going to check on their gammas or just go to the watering holes and get drunk on aconite liquor. It was dangerous and stupid, too much could kill a were… 

But he supposes it isn’t all that different from human liquor. 

He pauses as he heard steps in the entrance hall to the gamma arc. Holding a container of food, he turns his head to listen clearer. They were wolf, he would guess. There are definitely four paws walking, with the right estimate weight of a werewolf in shift. He brings his head back forward and lifts it again to sniff the air. It’s not one of his theta, but it’s still somewhat familiar. Perhaps one of Yami’s delta? 

The answer hits him along with a dull throb in his groin. He turns on his heel and stares at the blond alpha wolf. He’s filthy dirty and his fur is shaggier than he can remember ever seeing it. Golden brown eyes watch him hungrily. 

“Jounouchi,” he says in a calm voice. “You’re late.” 

It only takes him a moment to realise its not him the alpha is staring at with intent hunger, but the container of beef stew in his hands. He looks down at it and rolls his eyes. “Same old Jounouchi,” he comments, shaking his head. “Thinking with his stomach.” 

He starts unloading whatever he hasn’t closed up yet onto a plate, then turns around. Jounouchi is sitting patiently, drool running out of his mouth. He hesitates, just a moment, looking down at the plate. 

They’re good plates, have been passed down the Kaiba theta for generations. He doesn’t want Jounouchi to break it with his wolf teeth. He could dump it on the floor, he certainly did that to him in the creche… 

_“Here mutt,” he taunted. “Take your master’s scraps.”_

He shook his head. Crossing the few feet of distance between them, he crouched down and meets golden eyes that look far too human for a lupine face. He holds the plate at level with his nose. "If you chip the plate with your teeth, I'll pull them out. Get it?" 

Jounouchi huffs at him, clearly unimpressed by his threat. He rolls his eyes and stands, heading back to the table to finish packing up all the leftovers. The catering theta he hired certainly did great work. 

The squelch of the wolf's unsightly lack of manners has him speaking aloud to try and drown the noise out. "Mokuba was hoping you would come to his presentation. He's a beta, if you haven't sniffed that out yet. You missed the ceremony and the feast, obviously. Yami supposed you might come to the midnight run." 

The room goes silent. He turns his head to see the blond wolf watching him. 

"Well?" He asks. "Are you?" 

Jounouchi watches him for a long moment, then nods. He bends down and continues eating. 

Kaiba rolls his eyes and continues packing up the food. "I'm taking these to the creche. Mokuba went with Yami to his den. If you were wondering." 

He doesn't say anything else, just carries the food to the creche complex. The only cubs there this time of the night are the orphans--the ones without a gamma pack to go home to. He remembers personally how rare it was to get good food. He doesn't get the melting warmth at seeing the cubs that he's heard all omega are supposed to feel, but he does feel happy when they smile to see him coming. 

The creche guardian greets him warmly and shows him around the new additions that his donations have provided. He's too full to eat with them again, but he does sit amongst them as the dozen cubs share the food with one another. 

They go to sleep before midnight and Kaiba goes to the forest. He shifts, feeling his inner wolf impatient with expectation. He finds Mokuba's scent easily, following it to a familiar glade. He pauses just outside the delta's territory. He doesn't feel welcome there. 

He can hear talk not a few feet away. Honda's voice. "Come on, buddy. Chocolate chip. Your favourite. All you gotta do is shift back, man." 

It must be Jounouchi. If Kaiba was human, he would have scowled. Was this Honda's method to forcing Jounouchi to shift back? No wonder he'd left. 

His concentration on the moment breaks as he feels anticipation wash over him. He tilts his head back and howls toward the absent midnight moon, the call of his gamma. Mokuba calls back to him. 

Yami howls the sound of his delta, and is echoed by six wolves -- Mokuba amongst them, strong and confident. 

Kaiba arches his neck again and howls the call of his theta. Distantly he hears some responses, but Mokuba's is close and unwavering. 

From the rotunda in the centre of the forest comes the call of their community, led by whoever is their elected leader this threemonth. In the forest, a thousand voices echo the howl--joined by the newly presented wolves of the mooncycle. 

From the forest beside him there is an explosion of energy, a blur of blond fur. Kaiba gives chase with an eager howl. 

The midnight run has begun. 


	15. Chapter α

They catch him on the outskirts of the territory. He’s been careful to stay in neutral territory, with a notable exception. At Mokuba’s presentation there’d been too many wolves and he’d managed to sneak out before they territory leaders had been able to spot him. 

But they do catch him, tangled up in a net made of wolfsbane fibre. He bites and snarls, but they muzzle him with silver. He wonders who the territory leader is, and why they’ve mounted a hunt for him. If it’s Hirutani or anyone linked with his delta then he’s doomed for a containment cell and obedience training. If it’s an old traditionalist, he’s set for life imprisonment or execution. Lunatics are only given a certain amount of time after going feral to bring themselves back. Rehabilitation was too much effort for most weres. 

He recognises the rotunda before he’s dragged in and dumped on the raised dais. The woman sitting at the front of the council looks vaguely familiar, but he can’t place her. Not many scents can get through the silver muzzle, but he manages to catch that she’s a beta. It’s unusual that anyone but an alpha male is elected to lead the territory. She is someone to be wary of. 

“Jounouchi Katsuya, twenty-five years old, alpha male,” she says, cold brown eyes staring at him without blinking. “Shift back to your natural form, now.” 

He snarls at her. Who is she to tell him what his natural form is? 

“Jounouchi this is your last opportunity before we take the matter into our hands,” she said in a steady, unwavering voice. “Shift to your natural form.” 

He growls, shifting to a fighting stance as best as he can, tangled up inside the wolfsbane net. 

The territory leader smirks, a cruelty about the turn of her lips. Jou gets the impression she didn’t want him to comply. “Daimon,” she says calmly. “Would you do the honours?” 

Something about the scent of the alpha that approaches him makes his skin crawl. He turns to growl, but feels a sharp stab to his flank. He snarls, feeling a burning liquid spread through his veins. Stinking hands reach forward and undoes the muzzle around his snout. He jerks around to try and bite the hand, but instead he finds himself convulsing in pain. 

Who knew that there was a chemical that could induce transformations? There were folk tales of potions and herbs that could be used to calm a lunatic wolf. But nothing could force a wolf back to human form. 

When his muscles stop seizing, he feels weak as a newborn. A beta muscleman comes over and hauls him onto his feet. The net is withdrawn, but before he could gather the energy to fight or run, there are shackles around his wrists and ankles. 

“Let’s hope you aim to be more cooperative from now on,” the beta leader says, staring him down. “As you know, it is dangerous to leave a lunatic unsupervised in a feral state for longer than three years. It is now our responsibility to ensure that you no longer pose a threat to our territory.” 

“You talk a lot,” he retaliated, giving her a defiant look. “You’ve already decided what the fuck you’re doing to me, so get it over with.” 

“You ought to show a little respect!” the alpha beside the beta snarls. 

“Otaki,” the woman snaps. 

He immediately falls silent and offers her a deferential look. 

The beta turns and smiles sweetly at Jounouchi. It makes him feel sick. “Jounouchi,” she says in a calm, motherly voice. “We are a very modern council,” she continues, “we are always looking for new and modern techniques for fairly governing our territory to the betterment of all our weres.” 

A new technique, he thinks as he swallows nervously. How is he supposed to know what to expect with that? Her attempts to appear kind aren’t helping either. 

“Ooka,” she says, turning to someone further down the line. “What do you know about lunatic wolves?” 

Another alpha leans forward, peering at Jou on the dias. There’s something about the look he thinks he’s seen on the faces of lawyers on TV. But what does the council need with a theta lawyer? He’s starting to get paranoid that there’s something else going on that he doesn’t know about. 

“Lunatics,” the alpha says, and now there’s no doubt he’s a lawyer. “Are werewolves without full control over their instincts, especially when it comes to fighting and mating. They are eighty-five percent more likely to become feral compared to fully functional werewolves.” There’s a small pair of square glasses frames on his nose. Using two fingers on the left frame, he pushes them back into place. “If the Lady Councilwoman wishes to hear my opinion, I do not think this lunatic wolf should be left unsupervised.” 

“Thank you for your wisdom, Ooka.” Lady Councilwoman--he needs another name for her--lays her hands on the top of the carved wooden bench. One by one, she cracks the knuckles on her hands, staring unwaveringly at Jounouchi. 

He refuses to bow to her intimidation. He raises his hands in their shackles, interweaving his fingers, he pushes them out and cracks every knuckle at once. 

She gives him an icy look and turns to the alpha sitting to her left. “Daimon,” she says in a steady voice. “Repeat to me what Ooka said about lunatics being unable to control their instincts.” 

“Councilman Ooka said that lunatic werewolves without full control of their instincts, especially when it comes to fighting and mating.” The alpha is smirking at him cruelly as he repeats nearly word for word what they lawyerman said. 

“Do you guys just talk to hear yourselves talk or what?” Jounouchi demands, glaring at them. “If this is how you run your territory this place is going to the dogs.” 

Lady Councilwoman looks like she wants to reach out smack him across the face. “I can see all nuances of decent conversation and fair decision are lost on you, lunatic,” she snaps. She turns back to her council. “If the council has any proposals for decisions based on their current understanding, they may speak now.” 

The alpha on the far end leaned forward. “Lady Councilwoman.” 

“Yes, Oshita?” She said in an airy, patient voice. 

“A feral wolf without the ability to control himself when it comes to his fighting instincts is too dangerous to be left unsupervised,” he commented. 

“That’s more windbagging,” Jou snapped, impatiently. “Not a solution.” 

Lady Councilwoman nods to the beta holding Jou up. The muscle grabs him around the face and clamps his hand tightly around his mouth. He struggles, but eventually has to concede that he’s not getting free. 

His struggling has caused him to miss what the council has been saying. 

“--might calm his other instincts well enough to bring him back from his feral state.” Oshita was saying. “That is my suggestion for restraining the lunatic.” 

The councilwoman gives him an indulgent smile and Jou gets the feeling he’s just said exactly what she wanted him to. “That suggestion looks fit to me,” he says. “Councilmen, are we in accordance.” 

Jou feels a spike of fear. He’s missed hearing what it is he’s in for. Whatever control he has over his slack muscles tenses prepared to fight. 

She turns to him, a smirk on her lips that tells him everything has gone exactly according to her plans. “Jounouchi Katsuya,” she says, “the council has decided that for the safety of our people you are to be mated. Your chosen mate will be responsible for keeping you in accordance of society’s standards.” 

Jou swallows nervously. The hand slides off his mouth. “You can’t do that,” he says, nervous. “It’s illegal. You can’t make someone mate!” 

Lady Councilwoman only smiles. “Ooka?” 

“Two hundred years ago is the last precedent for the laws regarding forced mating,” the lawyer says, a smirk on his face. “The decision was made that for the safety of the territory, the lunatic omega was made to mate in order to ensure the safety of their werewolves.” 

The smile does not leave her lips. “Well that takes care of that matter.” She stares down Jou for a long moment. “However, in the interest of fairness, we will allow you to choose your partner for life.” 

Jou stares at her in fear. He can’t allow this to happen. He needs time, the ability to get out of this. To get out of the territory so he’s free of these crazy tyrants. He needs to name someone who can stand up against the council, who might have the resources to argue a case against the decision. 

But where is he supposed to find an omega like that? 

“Jounouchi Katsuya, you will name someone or we will make the decision for you.” 

He feels stupid for not thinking of it right away. 

“Kaiba Seto.” 


	16. Chapter β

Kaiba is not impressed to be pulled out of a business meeting for a summons to the council meeting at the rotunda. He’s not, however, surprised. 

Ever since his former board of directors had managed to get themselves elected as part of the territory council, he’s been expecting some sort of revenge. Inconveniencing his schedule is likely only the beginning. 

He tells his theta to go home, as he's likely to be tied up all day in their procedures--or dealing with whatever it is they're summoning him for. 

He knows he is meant to be appearing in the main hall of the rotunda, through the summoned entrance (it serves as the Theta entrance during formal ceremonies), but instead he deliberately goes through the council's entrance and finds himself in an antechamber. 

"Answer me this," a woman is saying. The voice is familiar but he can't place it. "Why did you choose him?" 

"If you were about to be forced into a mating, wouldn't you want to pick the richest choice?" 

Something is clawing at his mind, and he sorts through all the meanings available to him. Is Mokuba being forcibly mated to some beta? It wasn't exactly legal, unless the beta had done something... 

He stops himself from jumping to conclusions and steps into the room. "Lady Councilwoman," he greets politely, immediately recognising the fur throw draped around her shoulders. "I was summoned." 

"To the main chamber," she said coldly. 

He made sure to give her a polite smile, no more deference than she was legally due. "Well it was no official summons, and this is the first direction from my theta office. I didn't want to _inconvenience_ any of the council members with further delays." 

He refuses to understand what his senses are telling him. The scent in the air he knows intimately, for all its long absence. The lean, muscular figure is topped with a tangled mess of dark blond hair. He knows the voice he heard talking to the councilwoman. 

"Well. The rest of the council is assembled in the rotunda. You will both follow me." She does not allow for any argument, immediately walking along the corridor to the main hall. 

The shackles around the alpha's wrists clink against one another as they walk down behind the councilwoman. "Kaiba..." 

"Jounouchi." She interrupts. "You will keep a respectful silence." 

Kaiba allows their fingers to brush as they walk alongside one another. Jounouchi flinches away from him and Kaiba scowls. He had thought that perhaps Jounouchi was acting with brash false bravado when he'd told the councilwoman had asked why he had asked for Kaiba. He hadn’t chosen to provide himself with an alternative reason, but had he, it may have been something toward their past--that he was a satisfactory lover, or that Jounouchi _trusted him_ enough to mate with him in a permanent way. 

The alpha’s recoiling away from him tells him enough on that matter. He does not intend to leave Kaiba with any belief about his reasons for choosing him as an omega. 

He allows himself to feel offended and hurt by that for only as long as it takes to enter the hall of the rotunda. Then he pushes it all away and rationalises. He can’t blame Jounouchi for wanting to ensure some resource security in his life. Was he any different for thinking of bonding an alpha just to look after Mokuba when he was still a cub? 

The alpha is chained to the dias and Kaiba takes his place beside it. The five alphas sitting at the council bench smirk at him. They must be expectant of some victory. 

Lady Councilwoman takes the centre seat and watches them both. The spectators in the formal delta-arc fall silent, expectant. 

Is this their plot? To expose him as an omega publically? 

He doesn’t even bother to smile at them politely. He’s not threatened by the prospect of his orientation being publicised. He’s already scandalized the theta-community by firing his board of alpha directors and replacing them with mainly beta and omega weres. What harm will the truth do to him now? 

“Jounouchi Katsuya,” the councilwoman began. “The council elected earlier today that to protect the territory from your violence you are to be mated to a were who will be held responsible for any further indiscretions.” 

Kaiba did not allow his surprise to show. It’s an archaic law, that fell out of favour over a hundred years ago, and was usually reserved for omega. 

She smiles at the alpha. “You were offered the opportunity to nominate a mate, and you named Kaiba Seto. Is Kaiba Seto still your choice?” 

Jounouchi glares at her. “Yep,” he says, flatly. 

He expects, as it ought to have gone, her immediately to turn to him and ask for his consent. Instead, she turns to address the gathered spectators and begins a long speech. She preaches that every were has a civic duty to protect the territory, that they all must do their part to contribute to the benefits of their community. 

Reluctantly, he is impressed. She is good. She knows precisely what she is doing, and how it will make him look if he refuses to consent to this bonding. 

Finally, she turns back to the two in the centre of the rotunda. “Kaiba Seto, will you perform your duty and submit to this alpha?” 

He stiffens. _Fuck_. He senses more than observes the rest of the council anticipating his answer, his _submission_ , his _performing his natural duty_ , his debasing himself as the omega they think he should be. 

He bows to her. “Your speech on duty to the community has moved me, Lady Councilwoman,” he says, “and I will take charge of Jounouchi and bring him back into the benefits of a stable territory community. As his mate.” 

His previous chairmen are seething, but he his anxious about the victory he sees shining in the beta woman’s eyes. Jounouchi has stiffened beside him and Kaiba does not glance at his face to see his reaction to the news. 

“You will begin the mating rituals immediately,” Daimon demanded. 

Kaiba smirks at him. “I believe Councilman Daimon misspoke--surely he means ‘as soon as possible’,” he turns to Ooka, “after all, it is illegal to force council-mandated matings outside of the mating moon, is it not?” 

The former lawyer nods reluctantly, and watching the frustration cross the faces of his former board of directors is as satisfying as anything about this proceeding has been so far. 

“Kaiba Seto is correct of course,” Lady Councilwoman says. 

Kaiba is immediately on edge, suspicious of her motives in agreeing with him. 

She smiles. “You will be given the opportunity for a bond to form naturally between now and the mating moon,” she announces. “But should you fail to do so, the council will use the extent of its resources to ensure a proper mate-bond is forged between you and this lunatic.” 

Kaiba swallows even as he nods. The mating moon is four days. He’ll just have to ensure he and Jounouchi have knotted and _one of them_ has a bite by that time. Four days. 

The beta guard of the council comes forward and unlocks Jounouchi’s shackles. 

When he reaches to touch Jounouchi’s arm and the alpha recoils away from him, a sick foreboding sinks into his chest. 

Four days may not be long enough. 


	17. Chapter γ

Jounouchi growls and thrashes as he’s dumped in the water. 

“Calm down.” 

“Fuck you,” he snarls. 

“Well, you’ll have to soon enough.” 

The shock of being dumped in the water wears off of his panicked brain and he relaxes into the warm water of the bathtub. He turns to scowl at Kaiba. The omega is standing on the other side of the bathtub, where it was mostly dry. His shirt is smudged with mud and dirt. Jou only feels the tiniest bit of guilt about it. 

“Wash,” Kaiba says firmly. “As long as you’re in human form, you’re going to act like it.” 

Jounouchi glares at him and folds his arms over the sopping shirt on his chest. “Well? Get lost then.” 

Kaiba rolls his eyes. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he remarks. 

Jou growls, and it feels strange in his human throat. He misses the feeling of his wolf form. But even when he tries to shift, it fails to work. Whatever chemical those assholes had pumped him with still hadn’t worn off. So he resigns himself and strips off the filthy shirt he’s been wearing for who-knew-how-long, tossing it carelessly on the bathroom floor. 

He flinches when something hits the water beside him with an expected plop. He realises after a long moment that he’s snarling at a facecloth slowly sinking beneath the surface of the water. Embarrassed, he darts a look in the direction of the other were. Kaiba isn’t looking at him, though. He’s inspecting the shirt, fingering the frayed edges and tears in the fabric. 

“Are you sentimentally attached to this shirt?” The omega asks. 

“No,” he says, confused by the question. 

“Well, I’m burning it then,” Kaiba says decisively. He tucks it under his bare arm, still not looking in Jou’s direction. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” 

As soon as the bathroom door clicks shut, Jou smirks. Kaiba was that foolish twice in a row? He got to his feet and moved over to the open window. He slipped out and jumped down, landing in a crouch on the ground, splashing mud up everywhere again. He bolted immediately toward the forest at the end of the nature strip. 

It’s Honda who grabs him this time, apologising as he throws Jou over his shoulder and forcibly carries him back to the Kaiba house. He growls, struggling, but the beta’s grip is too strong to escape. 

Kaiba is giving him a tired, frustrated look. “Am I ever going to be able to trust you, Jounouchi?” He asks. Shaking his head, he thanks Honda for the help and letting him leave the house. He turns back to Jou and watches him. “You need to have the damned bath, Jounouchi. You’re just getting filthier with every escape.” 

The alpha rubs some mud into the carpet, glad to dirty it up. “You need to get my point, Kaiba.” He’s going to escape. Whether Kaiba is trying to stop him or not. 

The omega sighs in frustration. “Will you walk upstairs or do I have to carry you again?” He asks. 

Jou sneers at him in reply. And that is answer enough. Kaiba approaches and grabs him, one arm under his back, the other under his knees. He hoists the alpha up with a low grunt--Jou is embarrassed that an omega can forcibly carry him around. 

First Honda and now Kaiba. He must be more underweight than he realised, but good food is hard to procure when you’re hunting alone. 

He’s dumped back in the bathtub. At first it was pristine white and the water was scalding hot. Now the water is less than lukewarm and the tub is covered in brown handprints and smudges. Kaiba kicks the door shut and locks it, goes to the window and slams it closed too. 

“Clean yourself!” Kaiba snaps, his patience apparently gone. “This is your last chance before I do it for you.” 

Jou still doesn’t move, crossing muddy arms over his bare chest. Kaiba growls in frustration and undoes the top few buttons of his shirt before yanking it off over his head. The alpha stares, startled, even as Kaiba unbuttons his fly and slides his work pants off too. The briefs stay on at least. 

Jou shrinks away from him as the omega crosses the bathroom and steps into the bathtub. He straddles the jean-clad thighs and glares directly into his face. It hurts his alpha pride, but he looks away first, turning his face to the side. 

The omega’s sigh blows across his cheek. Large hands with slim, delicate fingers reach up and gently picks up the ball-chain from around his neck. He slides his fingers down to the preserved tooth. A slight frown pulls at his forehead. “Why do you have…?” He doesn’t finish the question. 

Jou looks down at it. “It’s my dad’s chain,” he says. “Yuugi’s holding on to the tags for me.” He sighs and slumps against the tub. “Too many dog jokes.” 

Kaiba doesn’t question further, he only starts rubbing at the mud on his shoulders. “I wish you would stop acting like I was forcing you into this,” he murmured in a quiet voice. “You’re the one who nominated me.” 

He fights off the guilt in his stomach by forcing a flare of irritation. “Not because I wanted to mate with you!” he protests. “I thought you could buy me time so I could--” 

He’s cut off by a mud-covered finger pressing against his lips. 

“Stop,” Kaiba says. “I need plausible deniability.” He sighs and lowers his finger. He gets to his feet and grabs the detachable shower head. He’s silent as he starts to wash Jou off, mostly with the force of the shower jets, but rubbing with his hands at stubborn spots. 

The door clicks and opens, in wanders Mokuba. “Evening, big brother!” 

Jou splutters, looking away in shocked embarrassment. “Mokuba!” he cries. “We could’ve been mating!” 

“I scented before I came in,” Mokuba answers, shrugging. He puts the lid of the toilet down and sits down, watching them both. “Territory’s flooded with rumours, Seto.” 

Jou turns to look at Kaiba to see his reaction but there is none. His face is impassive as he acknowledges his brother with a hum, still working the mud from his skin. “I didn’t doubt there would be.” 

“What are the rumours?” Jou asks nervously. 

Mokuba smiles at him. “Lot of stuff calling Seto a useless knotslut who couldn’t get a proper alpha so he had to get one assigned from the council,” he answers. 

“I just hope they don’t start saying I’m incapable of running my theta,” the omega comments, “that could damage the pack’s reputation in the territory.” 

“I’m ready to step in as alpha if that’s what’s needed,” the younger brother comments, grinning. 

Kaiba rolls his eyes and stands to hang the shower head back on its hook. “Tell you what,” he says, “you can look after the company over the waning gibbous moon, while I’m incapacitated with Jounouchi.” 

Jou makes an uncomfortable squeak in his throat. It was too uncomfortable to hear Kaiba talking about them being busy in the mating room, as if it was a certain thing. He has to escape the territory before anything got worse. 

Kaiba unplugs the bath, letting the water out. “Jeans off and shower,” he tells Jou. “Mokuba, listen out. He’s jumped out that window four times this afternoon.” With that parting shot, he heads out of the bathroom. 

“Gees, what did you do to Seto?” Mokuba asks, frowning after his brother. 

“Nothing!” Jou protests, giving him a startled look. “I’ve barely said fifty words to him since we got out of the rotunda.” 

Mokuba sighs. “Well. That’d probably do it.” He runs a hand through his sweaty fringe. “You guys are gonna be mated. I know you haven’t been used to talking for the last few years, but you should make an effort.” 

Jou doesn’t answer that. He has no intentions of being mated to Kaiba. 

The beta glances at the window. “Four times?” He asks. “It’s like you’re _trying_ to run away.” 

Jou looks away, guilty. 

Mokuba inhales sharply. “Jounouchi, you _can’t_ ,” he says in a low voice. 

Jou growls. “I can so,” he answers. “If your brother and Yami’s pack would just turn a blind eye for ten minutes, I could be out of the territory and free.” 

“Jounouchi you can’t,” Mokuba insisted. “The council has got triple patrols along the border. They’re expecting you to run.” 

He shrugged. “I’m quick. And so what if they catch me?” He rubbed at his arm. “Lock me up or put me down?” 

“You don’t get it,” the beta says, frustrated. “Seto is legally responsible for you now. You’re not the one who’s going to get in trouble. The council will go after _him_.” 

Jou feels a squirm of guilt and swallows. “I… I didn’t know that,” he confesses at a whisper. 

Mokuba shakes his head. He rises to his feet. “You can’t run away, Jou. Those men on the council… they’re pissed at Seto. They’re not going to be lenient on him. Even if you manage to get away…” 

Jou swallows nervously. _I need plausible deniability_ , Kaiba said. He trembled. “I can’t promise,” he whispers. “I don’t feel _safe_ here.” 

Mokuba sighs. “I’m sorry you don’t, Jou. But you can’t go.” He gives him a resolute look. “We’re all going to make sure you don’t. You might be able to slip away from Seto, but not our entire delta.” 

Jou watches the young beta leave the bathroom, nervousness bubbling in his stomach. 


	18. Chapter δ

Kaiba looks up at his bedroom door as he hears it creak open and the scent of alpha enters the room. The scent may permeate his space, but Jounouchi doesn’t. They stare at one another for a long moment, then Kaiba lowers his head back onto his pillow. “Have you stopped jumping out of windows yet?” 

The alpha sighs. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “I’m going to stop running away for now.” 

Kaiba has to wonder if the blond had just lied directly to his face, but he doesn’t press the matter. “Well that’s a relief. I have worse things to worry about than a runaway mate.” He moves over and taps the other side of his bed. “Come on.” 

Jounouchi looks hesitant, taking one step into the room, and then stopping again. His entire posture screams out flight or fight instincts. 

Kaiba tries to relax and look as non-threatening as possible. “Shut the door. Proofing of the room doesn’t work unless the door’s sealed.” 

“Scent or sound?” He asks. 

“Both.” 

Jounouchi swallows and closes the door to the bedroom. But he doesn’t move any closer. 

Kaiba sighs and turns on his side, it was easier to see him from this position. “Are you trying to make this as painful as possible?” He asks in a quiet voice. “It’s like pulling teeth. Come here and lie down.” 

The alpha hesitates, but he does start walking toward the bed. His feet shuffle and he looks as if he’s being dragged by the scruff of his neck. He sits on the bed, but doesn’t relax or lie down. 

The omega sighs, sitting up and shifting closer to him. “What can I do for you, Jounouchi?” 

He only makes a sub-vocal whine in his throat. He’s nude, but sits like he’s comfortable in his own skin. It makes it easier for Kaiba to slide a hand down his chest and wrap a hand around the limp dick. He makes a surprised moan and the member in his hand begins to plump up. His hips buck into Kaiba's fist once, twice, but then there's a hand wrapped around the omega's wrist and squeezing tightly. "Stop." 

Kaiba tells himself that he is _not_ disappointed that his alpha is rejecting him, but it stings on a deep, instinctual level. He withdraws his hand and sighs. "Jounouchi," he says carefully, "it's only a few days until the waning gibbous moon." 

"I know," Jounouchi says, sounding almost defensive. 

"By the end of then we need to be mated," he points out. "Isn't it better to deal with it on our own terms?" 

"I'd rather not do this before I have to." 

It comes like a punch to the chest. "That's fine then." But it really isn't. Jounouchi would rather subject him to a public mating under the scrutiny of the council and anyone who felt like watching them, than accept the consequences of the choice he made. "Try and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll take you out to Yami's den and you can collect some of your belongings." 

"Kaiba?" The alpha sounds almost hesitant. 

"Yes, Jounouchi?" 

There is a long silence. Whatever Jounouchi wanted to say, he must have changed his mind. He sighs heavily and says goodnight. But even after that it's still hours until either one of them get to sleep. 

Jounouchi is not there when he wakes up in the morning and the bed beside him is cold. He feels little sick--had he run away while Kaiba was sleeping? How much of a head start has he gotten? He doesn't hurry as he gets out of the bed and dresses for the day. The Kaiba gamma den is on the outer ring of the territory. If he even had ten minutes, he's either gone or in the hands of the council. He sniffs the air as he leaves the room, searching out Mokuba. The trail ends at the back door. 

He heads to the kitchen to make breakfast--he'll send a beta out to find Mokuba once he gets to the office--and finds a folded note on the coffee machine. It's scrawled in Mokuba's awful handwriting and after a few minutes he manages to make out that he has taken Jounouchi to Yami's den. 

That at least is some small relief. He'll still send a beta around later to check they're both accounted for.   
The full moon prickles at his skin, a reminder that tonight he's supposed to be running with his theta. Yet it's still his responsibility to make sure that Jounouchi is under control in the full moon. It's an awkward situation, since Jounouchi isn't technically his mate yet, nor has he had a formal integration with the theta. Technically by pack law he isn't allowed to run with his theta. He mulls over this as he drinks his coffee and cooks up a bloody steak to satisfy his hunting urges.   
He still has no answer by lunchtime when his door opens and deposits Mokuba and the source of his problems. Jounouchi looks twitchy, ready to shift and jump out the window at any moment.   
"Afternoon," he greets them, pushing away his paperwork.   
In reply he gets a cheery reiteration and a growl that is more warning than acknowledgement. Mokuba laughs and sits on the chair across from Kaiba's desk. "I've just been introducing Jou around the den," he explains.   
"Are they treating you respectfully?" The pack-alpha asks his intended mate.   
Jounouchi shrugs. "They're fine. Some snide comments, but nothing I'm not used to."   
Kaiba scowls. "They shouldn't be doing that," he comments flatly. He gets a shrug in reply and gives up on getting conversation from the alpha over the full moon. "How was your delta?" He asks, directed to both of them.   
Of course, it's Mokuba who answers him. "Everyone's fine, Seto," he says. "They were glad to see Jounouchi after so long. Yami invited him to run with us on delta night."   
The pack-alpha hummed at that, turning to give the blond an enquiring look. He got a non-committal shrug in response, and a refusal to meet his eyes. "Well that's up to Jounouchi, isn't it?" He told his brother. "He is allowed to pick which delta we'll belong to."   
Because that will be Jounouchi's choice in the future. As his alpha, he'll have the choice over what packs they belong to. As pack-alpha of both his theta and gamma, he can technically veto any decision there--but since he's unaffiliated with any delta pack, that choice is now--or rather _will soon be_ Jounouchi's.   
Mokuba shakes his head. "You know I can lead the runs tonight, Seto? As your second."   
"Why should I let you do that?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.   
"So you and Jou can spend some time together. Bonding." His brother has apparently decided he has no business with subtlety.   
The alpha splutters, shocked, while Kaiba gives his brother an impassive look. "You'll have to try a little harder than that to usurp my place in the theta, Mokuba," he says bluntly. "Besides, not that it's your business, but Jounouchi have already come to an agreement about our bonding arrangements."   
Mokuba pouted, like he was still a cub, "it _is_ my business, big brother." He insists, "if Jounouchi is going to be my gamma-alpha this does affect me!"   
Kaiba can't speak for a long moment. Mokuba thinks... He clenches his jaw. "Well. You're not the one being mated here, Mokuba. So excuse me while I don't take your advice on this matter."   
His younger brother looks confused. "Wait, what did I say?" He asks.   
"Leave it alone, Mokuba," he says sternly. He meets Jounouchi's eyes and thinks he sees understanding there. But it disappears the moment the alpha looks away from him. He clenches his jaw and takes a carefully controlled breath. He will not allow himself to be upset by the fact that the were _who had chosen **him** to be his mate_ can't even meet his eyes. "I'll see you both at home tonight."   
They recognise it as the dismissal it is. 


	19. Chapter ε

Jou wishes he could shift. The full moon is burning under his skin, desperate to embrace his wolf side and run with the rest of the weres tonight. He feels moondrunk and stupid with it, but all too aware that there's nothing he can do to get rid of it. He's human, sitting on a rock in the middle of a familiar glade. 

He'd gone out with the Kaiba gamma, but it wasn't long until Mokuba was chasing down his delta as well. He followed them to the delta's glade, but there they'd gone running and he'd been unable to keep up. 

The clouds part and a shaft of moonlight hits his skin. It almost stings. He _wants_. Keening in his throat, he recoils away from the moonlight. Deeper in the forest, one of the wolves calls off the chase. He tenses, expecting company at any moment. 

He gets it. Though he was expecting Yuugi, it's another omega that enters. 

"Hey Kaiba," he forces out. His mouth and tongue feel _wrong_. He feels wrong. 

The wolf approaches him, eyes studying him with a kind of curiosity. He shifts back between one step and another and Jou burns with jealousy that the omega can shift and he can't. Human blue eyes study him for a long moment. Then, he speaks with a voice like he's just solved a riddle: "you can't shift." 

Jou snorts. "Figure that out all by yourself, did you?" He mocks. 

"Why the hell can't you shift?" Kaiba demands. He sounds pissed off about it. 

Jou tries his best to reign in his anger. He knows that Kaiba isn't actually angry about him, but with the moon under his skin and nowhere to go, he's closer to his anger than he is any rationality right now. "Yeah," he snapped. "Whatever your stupid council of directors shot me with is blocking it. Hasn't left my system yet." 

Kaiba looks horrified and furious. He swallows and seems to be forcing himself to calm down. When he speaks, it's through clenched teeth. "I am not affiliated with them," he says in a steady voice. 

Jou _knows that_ , rationally. But his instincts are lashing out at whatever they can right now--Mokuba could be his witness. He'd nearly bitten the beta's arm off when he'd tried to wake him in the early hours of the morning after he and his brother had gotten back from the theta run. 

Still. He lashes out. "Who's to say you're not! You could be working with them and that crazy councilwoman, trying to lock me up and rehabilitate me!" 

A snarl is all he gets before Kaiba has jumped at him. His back hits the grass and the burst of pain is enough to ignite his fury. He snarls back and throws a punch at the figure above him. Its caught and shoved aside. Hands grab at his shoulders and try and turn him. He knows if the were gets him face down, it'll be his face rubbed in the dirt. That he will not stand for. 

Throwing his weight backwards, he knocks his assailant away. He's quick to turn, shoving them back against the dirt and grabbing their wrists to pin above his head. He snarls furiously and pauses in confusion when the body beneath him easily relaxes into a submissive posture. 

His mind comes back around slowly and he pants as he looks down at the omega's patient expression. "Kaiba..." 

"Jounouchi." The deep voice is calm and welcoming. One leg shifts, wrapping around his thighs and letting the alpha settle easily between his legs. The back arches slightly, pressing their chests together. The scent in the air is changing. "Alpha," he rumbles, and then the long, pale, unblemished neck tilts for his bite. 

He whines, shifting down to prepare that neck for his mark. At the licks and kisses, he receives a pleased rumble of a moan. The scent in the air changes again, sweeter, more enticing.... 

And then suddenly it sours. The body beneath him is tense. He pulls away, confused, and catches the new scents in the air. Seven weres, a mix of all three kinds. 

"Fuck!" he curses as his full awareness comes back. He throws himself backward and climbs back up to sit on the rock with shaking knees. 

His delta _including Kaiba's younger brother_ had just caught them about a minute away from a mating claim. 

Otogi sneers at them. "Don't let us stop you!" 

The reaction Kaiba gives to those words is so violent that it occurs to Jounouchi that the beta's presence is what had turned him off in the first place. "Fuck you, Otogi!" 

The beta smirks at him. "I don't think I'm equipped to satisfy you, _knot-slut_." 

Yami has his face grinding in the dirt before Kaiba has time to get to his feet with a furious snarl. "You have been warned about your disrespect, Otogi." He glares down at the beta, who struggles and submits. "Would you like to take your boon out of him, Kaiba?" He pauses and looks up. "Kaiba?" 

Jounouchi turns his head, but all he can make out is a brown wolf racing through the undergrowth. 

Yami kicks Otogi aside and completely ignores him, the rest of the pack following suit. The beta just grits his teeth as he realises he's being shunned and gets to his knees. 

Jounouchi looks from him up to Mokuba's eyes. Mokuba nods silently and then, after bowing to Yami, walks in the direction his brother has gone. The blond follows. They both stay human, though Mokuba could have easily caught up to his brother in wolf form. 

The trail leads them back to the Kaiba house. The back door is open and muddy pawprints track through the kitchen and up the stairs. 

"I am not cleaning this up," Mokuba mumbles determinedly. 

The tracks look half-shifted in the hallway and then disappear, suggesting Kaiba had shifted human once he was upstairs. The omega's bedroom is closed and knocking doesn't get a response. Mokuba sighs and shakes his head. "He'll come out when he's ready." 

Shaking his head, he heads down the hallway to his own bedroom. 

Jounouchi doesn't have his own space to retreat to. So he sits with his back against his omega's door and closes his eyes. 

He must sleep because he opens his eyes and the moon has set. The itch under his skin has reduced to a bearable level and he's starting to feel groggy and thick--if it's moondrunk, he guesses this is a moon-hangover. He gets to his feet and turns around to face the door. 

Maybe Kaiba has woken up and unlocked the door. He frowns as he realises neither he or Mokuba had checked the door in the first place... 

Come to think of it, he wasn't sure if Kaiba's bedroom had a lock on it in the first place. He moves his hand down and tries the knob. It turns easily and he pushes the door open to meet with no resistance. 

The smell hits him in the face and he makes a shocked squeak in his throat. He steps inside quickly and shuts the door just as fast. He stares at the direction of the bed and tries to understand what he's seeing in his clogged up brain. 

Kaiba is completely naked, blankets kicked around the bottom of the bed. His legs are spread and the....proof of his activities still covering his lower half. His eyes trail down to the floor beside the bed where the...aid is sitting as if it had been tossed down there. 

He can't help his curiosity. He crosses over and kneels to look closer at it. It's...phallic shaped, if not realistic. The base is bulging slightly and he catches sight of a button on the bottom. He clenches his jaw against a wave of irrational possessiveness. He knows that if he presses the button, the base would swell up in a fake knot. 

"Of course _now_ you come in." 

Startled, he yanks his head around and sees Kaiba glaring at him through tired eyes. He swallows nervously. "I didn't know you wanted me to come in." 

Kaiba gives him a disbelieving huff. He turns his face around to face the other way. There's a tense silence for a few moments. "The least you can do is go get a washcloth to clean me off." 

Jou blushes and steps over to the other door in the room. Inside is a small bathroom. There's neatly folded washcloths beside the sink and he grabs one, unfolding it and running it under warm water. He wrings it until it stops dripping and goes back out to the bed. 

Kaiba hasn't moved and he barely twitches when Jounouchi starts washing him down. He drops the cloth in the laundry basket once he's done and then goes to stand awkwardly by the door again. He presses his back against the wood, glad to have something solid behind him. 

"Oh for fuck's sake," Kaiba growls, voice strained and exhausted. "Just come to bed, Jounouchi. I'm not going to bite you in your sleep." 

Jounouchi flinches at his harsh tone. The bed stinks of hot omega, but he crosses over anyway. He might as well get used to sleeping in the scent. For the next while, he's going to be doing the same thing three nights a month. 

He curls up, still fully dressed, on the very edge of the bed. He closes his eyes, but it's well into the morning by the time he gets any sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This silly fic has now broke over 1000 hits. I'm so flattered guys! I'm glad you're enjoying enough to read it.


	20. Chapter ϝ

“Are you coming with me, Jou?” Mokuba asks. 

Kaiba turns to look at the alpha curiously, wondering what his answer is going to be. Whatever he chooses, Kaiba inevitably has to go with him. He had planned to spend the last night of the full moon the way he always did--running as far as he could in his human form to exhaust his body for the following few days of the moon cycle. He wouldn't push himself so hard tonight--he'd need his strength and his wits about him tomorrow at the council. 

Jounouchi shakes his head in answer to the question. "I'm not in a rush to the guys anytime soon." 

"Last night wasn't that embarrassing, was it?" Mokuba asks, concerned. "We only came back because it sounded like you guys were having a fight." 

"We were having a fight," Jounouchi answers. 

"Not what it looked like from where I was standing," the beta says, an edge to his voice that Kaiba recognised. He was partially teasing, but only because he was making a serious point he knew would be brushed off to easily otherwise. 

"Doesn't matter," Jounouchi says, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks. "Embarrassment is not the reason I'm staying away." 

"Why are you then?" Mokuba asks, confused. 

"Because I'm not sure I can reign in my instincts enough not to kill Otogi the moment I see him." 

Mokuba laughs, obviously not taking his comment seriously. "Yami would let you fight him, you know." He grins widely. "He's in the shit with everyone right now. Even Ryou got to eat before him last night." 

Kaiba clears his throat. "Yami is entitled to punish his pack-betas as he sees fit," he says in an inarguable voice, "Jounouchi has already told you no and given you an explanation why. Drop the point." 

Mokuba rolls his eyes. "I hope you stop being such a cranky jerk after he mates you," he says to Jounouchi. 

Kaiba seethes with insult, and the alpha gives a startled sort of laugh that betrays the fact he doesn't really know whether to take the words as a joke or not. "You're going to be late to meet up with your delta," he says darkly, though they're all aware it's still a couple of hours until moonrise. 

The beta sighs. "Don't exhaust yourself, you two," he teases, heading toward the back door. "You'll be needed at the rotunda first thing tomorrow." 

"Goodbye Mokuba," Kaiba says curtly. 

Jounouchi shakes his head as the beta left through the back day. "Remember when he was just a cub and not a beta who thought he knew better than everyone?" 

"Better than you do," Kaiba answers, picking up his coffee to drink. He'd known pre-beta Mokuba for sixteen years, after all. He could see that Mokuba meant well, not to mention how his orientation made the world treat him and expect him to behave... But he misses his younger brother that was utterly devoted to him and him alone. 

He shakes his head free of the selfish thought. Mokuba is better to become his own person--sometimes he just wished the beta wasn't so different from the cub he had practically raised himself. 

He rises to his feet and sets the coffee cup in the sink. "I'm going to check the theta is organised for my absence over the next few days," he announces, though he doubts Jounouchi cares what he's doing or the reason why he is secluding himself away in his office for a few hours. 

He is one foot out of the kitchen when he hears the alpha's soft enquiry. "Kaiba?" 

Surprised, he turns back to the room. "Yes, Jounouchi?" 

"Are you going running like normal tonight?" 

Kaiba blinks, looking at him in confusion. "How do you know that I...?" 

"You run near the borders," he answers quickly. "I've seen you a few times, when I've been close to the territory." 

Somehow, Kaiba isn't surprised. He takes a deep breath. "Yes," he tells the blond. "I'll probably go a while after moonrise." 

"Can I come with you?" 

That he was not expecting. "Yeah," he says. "You can run with me." 

Jounouchi looks genuinely pleased at that, before he lowers his head back to his plate of food. 

Kaiba ponders that as he goes up to his office and checks over everything for the next few days. Despite his public reservations, he knows that his younger brother is perfectly capable of running the theta in his absence. The pack-betas like him more, which sometimes Kaiba allows himself to feel guilty about. He had to cultivate the image of a cold standoffish alpha for too many years, he wonders now if it's his true personality. 

Howls ring from the surrounding forests at moonrise. He feels the spark of energy from the full moon, telling him to be running and cavorting through the forest with other weres. He wonders how Jounouchi must feel. From the research he's read, Lunatics are more affected by the phases of the moon than normal weres. One, admittedly rather unintellectual, paper had claimed that they felt things three times as powerfully as the rest of the werewolf populations. 

He doesn't have much time to contemplate it. There's a knock on his office door. 

When he calls, Jounouchi enters. He's practically vibrating in place, his body all restless energy and anticipation. "Can we go soon?" He asks. 

Kaiba blinks at him and then turns his eyes to the neglected paperwork. "Let me change into something easier to run in," he says quietly, "then we'll go." 

Three years ago his pre-run routine involved scrubbing his natural scent off and dousing himself with the chemical alpha cologne and hoping nobody came close enough to smell the omega in his sweat. These days it's simpler, now that he outed himself to the theta and could care less that the territory in general knew what he was. He undresses and slips into exercise gear--loose soft pants with breathable, moveable material _he refuses to call them sweat pants_ and a tight shirt. He rarely goes shirtless--there's no reason to tempt alphas this close to the waning gibbous moon. 

When he comes downstairs, Jounouchi is standing by the door--or rather, bouncing from one foot to the other by the back door. 

He's dressed in jeans and nothing else. Privately, Kaiba notes that they're not the best choice to run in. But he gives Jounouchi the benefit of his silence. "I'm ready," he declares. 

They run, around the borders of different packs, both of them diverting away from Yami's territory by silent mutual agreement. There's a little competition between them, small bursts of speed that act as races, to see who can reach the edge of the next territory first. 

Eventually, however, they come to the edge of the council's territory and Jounouchi tenses. Kaiba knows he wants to run. He doesn't know if he wants to stop the alpha from escaping. Whatever the council or the alpha's friends thought, Jounouchi had lived a happier life by himself in the neutral zones beyond the council's control. He feels acutely--it's not his place to take that away from him. 

When one of the council's beta steps out of the trees, his presence a warning in and of itself, he realises. To the council, and to the general populace of their larger territory, it _is_ his place to keep Jounouchi away from that wild existence. His duty now is to keep Jounouchi confined within their borders and their standards. He's meant to be the tempering omega mate, the perk to stop Jounouchi from running wild and going feral. 

"Evening," he calls to the beta. "How's patrol tonight?" He says it casually as he turns, keeping Jounouchi on the inside, to run along the edge of the border. 

The beta seems confused at being addressed as such and manages out a half-coherent answer. 

Kaiba merely nods to him. "Come on," he says to the tense alpha beside him. "The old house is this way. I want to show it to you." He doesn't actually want to go anywhere near the old Kaiba house, but he can only hope that Jounouchi knows how to play along. 

The alpha doesn't speak, but he makes a sort of acknowledging grunt. He's eyeing the beta warily, ready to attack if necessary. 

To try and calm him, he moves his arm in a casual movement and brushes the knuckles of their fingers against one another. It startles Jounouchi out of whatever headspace he's in, and wide golden eyes stare at him as they run alongside one another. Kaiba smirks slightly as he catches sight of a raised root a few feet away. If Jounouchi isn't careful about how much attention he's paying... 

Jounouchi trips over the root and stumbles, yelping loudly in surprise. Kaiba can't help the laugh that comes out of his mouth, coming to a stop and leaning against a tree as he laughs far longer than is really necessary for the simplicity of his alpha tripping over a root. 

There's a sullen growl and he finds himself pressed against the tree. He's taller than Jounouchi, yes, and has a little more muscle. But Jounouchi has him pinned, through one force or another. He stares down into the golden eyes, feeling the laughter fall away as something heated takes its place between them. 

Jounouchi's eyes are brown, usually. But in the light of the full moon, they glow gold. He tries to remember if he's seen any other weres the same...or if it's an aspect of his condition. 

Before he really knows what he's doing, he's tilting his neck to expose the column of his neck to the alpha. He feels his body react to the closeness, the shift in mood between them. His dick twitches in the front of his pants and in the back, his muscles clench and release a tentative slick. 

Jounouchi is the perfect height to _just lean his head forward and mark him._

The alpha makes a wounded noise and nearly throws himself backward to get away from Kaiba. 

Any interest he'd had in the situation instantly dried up. The rejection burns him as much as the humiliation does. He turns and starts jogging again, turning the ache into drive to keep running. They bypass the old Kaiba house. If Jounouchi knows that they have, he doesn't say anything. 

They don't talk again and they don't interact. Kaiba runs until moonset and then turns to go back home. Jounouchi is flagging beside him, running out of energy and the omega refuses to care. Jounouchi doesn't give a shit about him, why shouldn't he be the same? 

The alpha would rather see him fucked in front of the entire council and the horny bastards that want to watch a mating than take him _any sooner than he has to_. 

He seethes with fury and very nearly slams the back door in Jounouchi's face as they get back to the house. Mokuba is up, smiling eagerly at them as they enter the room. His expression falls however when he sees the tension between the two of them. 

"What happened?" He asks. 

"Nothing happened," Kaiba growls. Well, it's true. Nothing did happen. Nothing happened when he might have liked something to, but that wasn't new. He pours himself a tall glass of water and drinks it down without pausing for breath. Very carefully, he sets it back down on the bench. "Make sure you get there at a decent hour tomorrow, Jounouchi," he says coldly. "I'd rather get this over and done with." 

He storms upstairs, managing to catch his brother ask: "alright, what did you do?" before he slams his bedroom door. 


	21. Chapter ζ

Kaiba is gone by the time he wakes up in the morning. That guy is far too obsessed with his theta. 

Jou sits up and stretches, whining as he feels heat under his skin. Alphas go into a rut on the mating moon when there’s a prospective mate. He’s not surprised, considering how close he’s been to knotting Kaiba over the past three days. It’s still an inconvenience though. 

At least he has the reassurance that he’ll be knotting the omega who’s caused his problem later tonight. With that begrudging hope, he heads up and goes into the shower. It’s still hours until the mating moon rises. 

He tries to keep his mind off the prospective events of the night but he’s fucking into his fist in the shower that smells like his omega. He knots his fist and enjoys it for as long as it lasts on his own. 

He dresses lazily, knowing he’s probably going to be undressed before long anyway. He’ll try and control himself--he has a mating ritual to go through tonight. He can’t wring himself dry before moonset. 

He hangs out around the Kaiba house, basking in the omega’s scent where he can find it and playing their games when he has a better control of himself. 

In the late afternoon, the back door bangs open and the furious growl of Yami spreads through the house. “Jounouchi Katsuya!” he roars. 

Jou scrambles to his feet and yanks up his jeans, heading toward the kitchen. “Yami?” He asks, confused. “What’s going on?” 

“What the hell are you doing here?” The pack-alpha demands. Jou splutters, unsure how to answer. Yami growls at him and snarls: “Kaiba’s been at the mating rooms since dawn!” 

“What?” He asks, feeling dread curling in his stomach. “No, he went to his theta den. Right?” 

“Fucking idiot,” the pack-alpha snarls. Grabbing Jounouchi’s ear he starts dragging him out of the house. “We’re lucky Otogi was being a gloating pervert or none of us would’ve known you were missing!” 

The mention of the beta has a growl building in his chest. “What does that jerk have to do with anything?” 

“That jerk went to the rotunda before you did!” Yami growled. He tossed him toward the forest. “ **Run**. If you take any longer than I have to I’ll tear your throat out myself.” 

Jounouchi is running, deep into the forest. 

_Make sure you get there at a decent hour tomorrow, Jounouchi. I'd rather get this over and done with._ A decent hour. Kaiba had told him to be early and he’s made him wait nearly ten hours in the mating rooms. He’s been fucking his knot all morning, when his omega had been waiting for him. 

There’s too many scents at the rotunda, it makes his skin crawl. He can’t pick Kaiba’s scent out from them. He knows where the mating rooms are, and he’s disgusted to find a large crowd on the viewing balcony. He enters through the doors and descends the stairs. His knees buckle when the scent hits him. 

_Why is Kaiba in heat?_ Kaiba shouldn’t _be_ in heat. Omega only go into heat once they’ve bonded. _Who’s touched his omega?_

The brunet is on his hands and knees, naked on the dais in the centre of the room. Jou yanks his pants off, whining in his throat as he stumbles and makes his way over to the dais. As he gets close, he can see how _soaked_ his omega is. He’s slick and shiny down to the floor. 

“Omega,” he breathes, “look at you.” 

He gets a strangled, broken whine in answer. It sounds muffled but he doesn’t have time to wonder why. His instincts take over and he’s slamming his dick in the waiting entrance. 

There’s nothing but heat and sensation and scent in his head. He fucks and thrusts and moans when _finally_ his knot sinks into a proper clench. He can knot his fist three times in one day but all of them combined doesn’t feel half as good as knotting his omega. 

When he finally stops coming, his brain comes back online. “Kaiba?” 

The omega beneath him is _sobbing_ , body shaking with it. 

He can focus enough to see the straps of a muzzle buckled around his head. He leans over his back and undoes it, yanking it off and tossing it away from them. “Kaiba?” He repeated. 

“Where the fuck have you been?” He demands, his entire body shaking. 

“I didn’t know,” he said. He realises with a sick feeling that Kaiba is _chained down_ into his position. “I was waiting for moonrise,” he continued, looking around for a key or something to unlock the shackles. “I didn’t know you meant--” 

The sound of a voice _too close_ clearing its throat interrupts his thoughts. He yanks his head up and sees the council sitting at a bench on the other side of the room. He snarls, reaching down to cover his mate up. 

Lady Councilwoman smirks across at them. “Nice of you to join us, Jounouchi.” She looks composed and victorious. 

The rest of the council, Kaiba’s old board of directors, look flushed and perverted, eyes all over Kaiba’s exposed figure. Jou can’t help but growl at them in warning. They look patronizing instead of intimidated. 

“Where are the keys to the shackles?” Jou demands. 

Some of the council actually snicker at him. Lady Councilwoman smirks at him, an edge of cruelty in the look. “I’m afraid we can’t do that until you have bonded successfully,” she says. 

Jou growls. “We’ve just knotted in front of you. Isn’t that proof enough for you?” He demands. 

He’s been to a mating before. When he was a horny new alpha and wanted to see what it was _like_. Sure enough, most of the time the pair exchange the bite during the knotting, but it’s not compulsory. 

The councilwoman has a smug sort of smile, resting her fingers against her chin. “This is a special case, Jounouchi. You’re a danger to our society. Until we can be totally certain that this council-mandated bonding takes place, neither of you will be allowed to leave the rotunda.” 

“This is torture,” Kaiba breathes, barely loud enough for Jounouchi to hear it. 

“We deserve a break,” the alpha argues. “My omega needs to be fed and have a drink,” he insists. “And you don’t need to be here for that.” 

Lady Councilwoman rises to her feet, followed hesitantly by the rest of the council. “The shackles stay on. Sustenance will be delivered to you. Gentleman,” she says, to the alphas, and leaves the room. 

They give Jou a dirty look and follow after her. 

Once the door has closed and the viewing balcony cleared, Jounouchi turns to look at his omega. 

Kaiba’s head is hung low and he’s panting heavily. He recoils away from Jou’s hands, but allows his chin to be lifted. 

“Kaiba, why are you in heat?” 


	22. Chapter η

His fingers are cold as he reaches back and feels the scars raised on his skin. He cranes his head around but he almost can’t see them. A mating bite. 

Or at least a good enough imitation of one that had fooled the council into letting them go. 

He only has the partial recollection of the previous day. Some things are vivid, however. 

_He can't remember every moment of the hours that passed between the beginning of his heat, but he knows that it **has** been too long. His alpha was supposed to be there. He tries not to think of the burning, burning, burning sensations spreading through his body, the clench of his empty entrance and the oversensitive ski that can feel every trail of slick running down his crack, his thighs and--as the time goes on and on--onto the stone floor beneath his knees. _

_They get sick of hearing him whine three hours in. That's when they muzzle him. Any saliva he can produce in his dry, desperate mouth is rubbing against the leather strips and chaffing against his skin. His wrists, his neck, the insides of his knees, the skin of his ankles--they're chaffed as well from the friction of struggling in the shackles._

If it weren't for supernatural healing, he's sure he would've been a bloody mess. 

With a heavy sigh, he drops his hand back to his side and studies himself in the mirror. He's pale and exhausted. Who knows how long it's going to take for him to recover from that torture masqueraded as a bonding ceremony. 

And it felt like torture. The way they'd turned his body against him and used it as the vessel for their own sick entertainment. 

_"Well," Daimon said. His slimy tongue darted out and left a smear of moist saliva on his lips. "It seems like your alpha doesn't want you."_

_Chuckling spread across the line. Only Lady Councilwoman seemed unaffected by the display that's going on around her._

_"I'd say we give him until moonrise. If he's not here by then, one of us will just have to take care of you."_

_Kaiba flinched, recoiling away as far as the shackles will let him. Was this the council's plan? Get him desperate in heat so he can't reject them and then forcibly mate him? Take over his theta and reinstate the board with total control over the decisions and resources?_

_**Jounouchi will be here,** he thinks. **He has to.** _

Lady Councilwoman. He feels like he should have known. Shuddering in disgust, he goes to the shower and turns it on. Somehow, despite the showers twice last night and already once this morning, he can't feel clean. 

Already naked, he steps into the shower stall and under the scalding hot water. He forces his body to adjust to it, rather than turning the dial to cool it down. 

He slicks up his hands with the scent-free bodywash and runs it along his arms. The skin around his wrists are still pink and new, healing skin from being torn up by shackles. He shivers and moves further up, rubbing the foam into the muscles of his biceps. 

_Strong beta hands gripped him tightly, pushing unrelentingly down until he's kneeling on the dais. "Nothing personal, Kaiba Seto," Lady Councilwoman said, approaching him. She held a large metal collar in her hands, and it was already attached to a length of reinforced chain. "We just have to make sure everything goes according to plan."_

_The collar settled around his neck, a foreboding click echoed through his ears as the key turns in its lock. He hoped that'll be the end of it, but of course he was wrong._

_Vicious hands with long, manicured fingernails gripped the muscles of his bicep. A slight pinch, forcing them together, then he cried out at a sharp pain in his arm. Liquid burned as it's injected into his veins. He turned his head to the side, eyes wide and panicked._

_A beautiful feminine face was set in a satisfied smirk. "Not to worry, Kaiba. Just a little hit to get things going."_

_He was flooded with panic and realisation. Because this woman had said those exact words to him after the exact same sensation, years ago in a different setting._

Kaiba shudders and pushes away the thought. How that woman, whose name he'd never known, had gone from a beta-lackey to a small pharmaceutical theta to ruling the territory was yet a mystery. And he has the feeling that if he were to look into it, there wouldn't be much to find. 

He finishes soaping up his arms and washed one shoulder. He hesitates and shivers, moving down to wash his chest instead of taking care of the other. He rubs soap into the depth of his chest and stomach, like the filthy feeling he has is buried in the grooves of his muscles. 

Fingers hesitate on the trail of coarse hair leading down. He swallows and forces his hand to move lower. The light, clinical touch to his limp penis is enough to remember... 

_Jounouchi's hand around him was warm and possessive, stroking him intently. "Just a little more," the alpha whispered, warm breath gusting across his ear and tantalizing the skin of his neck. "A little bit more and it's over."_

_Other words would have been more reassuring there. Like **I'll get you out of here,** or **forget about them, it's just us here.** _

_Jounouchi's dick was hard and perfect inside him, battering against his prostate with every thrust. The knot was pressed against his eager rim, ready to slip inside with one forceful thrust._

_"It's okay," Jounouchi whispered in his ear. It was the last whispered reassurance he got. After he said that, Jounouchi began kissing a trail down his neck, bypassing the thick metal collar that kept his head bowed and along his left shoulder. Everything happened at once after that. His alpha's knot burst into him and swelled up. He came, fire burned through his body like an explosion. Jounouchi's teeth sunk into the tender muscle of his shoulder._

The orgasm he has there in the shower is weak and lack-luster. He's surprised he has anything left. After they'd been released by a sullen council, they'd gone home and had to see each other through the rest of the heat. 

He washes himself clean, then reaches around to clean his rear free of the slick that had built up at the memory of his knotting. Down his legs, washing out anything that might be stuck in the soft leg hair--though rationally he knows that there's nothing left to clean. He rubs his back as best as he can and then swallows the bile crawling up his throat. 

Taking a deep breath, he reaches up and rubs soap into his left shoulder. The bite mark, though it's already scarred over, stings. 

The bite mark. 

Not even a mating mark. 

Because Jounouchi hadn't even seen fit to mark him properly as his mate. 

The subtle rejections hurts almost as much as the week of bond withdrawal had five years ago. It was enough to sate the council's standards--in the eyes of society, he and Jounouchi were now bonded mates. But that was as deep as it went. 

A shoulder bite. The sort of formal mark that had fallen out of favour at the same time as arranged marriages. Fitting, no doubt to Jounouchi's logic, a mating mandated by the territory council. For fuck's sake, it didn't even come with a metaphysical bond. Their last mating, brief though it was, had been more of a genuine connection than this ridiculous charade. 

After he washed himself off and stepped out of the shower, he forces himself to calm down. He will be rational about this. He will not feel upset or rejected. Jounouchi had been open about his reasons for choosing him as a mate. As he had told Lady Councilwoman the very day of the council meeting, he had chosen Kaiba because he was the richest omega in the territory. He had chosen security. Affection was not anything to look forward to. 

He dries himself off with the towel, then startles when he hears a knock on the bathroom door. 

"Seto?" Mokuba asks uncertainly. "Is everything alright?" 

Kaiba takes a deep breath, composes himself, makes sure the towel is secure around his waist, and then opens the door to his brother. "I was in the shower," he says, by way of explanation. 

Mokuba doesn't seem reassured by the words. 

He changes the subject. "When did you get back?" 

He can't help but notice his brother's eyes searching his neck for a mating bite. "About half an hour ago," he explains, distracted. "Yuugi sent me with a curry. He didn't think you'd be up to cooking yet." 

"I'll have to thank him for it when I see him next." He moves past his brother and he hears the slight gasp when his brother spots the bite mark. He dresses quickly to cover it up. "I'm starved." 

"You'd better hurry and get some before Jou eats it all, then." 

Kaiba stiffens as he hears the name. Reasonably he knows he ought not to react in such a way to a simple name. The name of his mate at that. But until he can properly process and dismiss the events of the past few days and stop the instinctive reactions, he'll just have to deal with them as they come. 

When he gets to the kitchen, Jounouchi looks at him and sighs, turning his face away. 

He can remember, how many lifetimes ago, in his first gamma pack--his mother coming into the kitchen and immediately being swept up in his father's arms, nuzzling into her neck and greeting her happily with a nip to the white-scarred mating bite. He aches in his chest, a nostalgia for the days that were far too shortly numbered, and the future he would never be entitled to. 

Mokuba didn't remember the time with their blood-gamma. The Kaiba gamma, under Alpha Gozaburo, had never shown any example of a happy, healthy alpha-omega relationship. He had hoped that maybe his brother could learn from Yami and Yuugi.... 

But apparently not. Mokuba doesn't find anything strange as he settles on a stool in the kitchen to eat. He reaches for a bowl sitting on the bench, but withdraws his hand when Jounouchi snarls at him. He rolls his eyes and gets to his feet, going to the fridge instead. 

Kaiba watches in wary surprise as Jounouchi picks up the bowl and brings it around to him. He takes it with uncertain hands. 

"You must be hungry," the alpha says in a quiet voice. 

_"You need to eat," Jounouchi said, fingers holding a chunk of cooked meat up to his lips. "Kaiba, come on."_

_"I'm not hungry," Kaiba insisted, turning his face away. He felt hollowed out and empty inside, but it had nothing to do with sustenance. "I need you to fuck me."_

_"I will," the alpha promised. "I'll knot you, sink my teeth in your neck and mark you as mine. But if I do it right now I'll kill you. Do you want everybody to know you got fucked to death?"_

_"No," the omega said sullenly. Reaching forward, he took the cold meat between his teeth and chewed it with an unhappy growl._

_"Good," Jounouchi rumbled, stroking sweaty clumps of hair back from his forehead. "You're my good uke."_

Kaiba yanks away from the thought, so violently that he actually takes a physical step backward. He gets the desperate urge to shower again. "Not really," he says, putting the bowl back down on the kitchen counter. 

Jounouchi and Mokuba exchange a look he pretends not to notice or comprehend. 

"I'm going to the theta den," Kaiba says. "Are you taking the day off, Mokuba?" 

His brother blinks at him surprised. "Uh, no, Seto," he says. "I thought you two would be busy for the next couple days. You don't have to go in, I can handle it..." 

Kaiba understands the assumption. The moon is still in its waning gibbous cycle, after all. By all expectation, he's a newly bonded omega. He shouldn't be able to leave the bed at this stage, from the force of his heat. But he's not in heat and his alpha isn't in rut. 

He clears his throat awkwardly. "I'll be fine until moonrise," he informs his brother. He might be perfectly fine afterward as well. He'll have to see when the moment comes. "So you can take the day off. If you want." 

Mokuba turns to look at Jounouchi, his expression twisted up in helpless confusion. The alpha just shrugs. "I'll probably stay here," he answers the unspoken question. "Cook some food, clean up a bit." 

_Act like the dutiful pack-omega you should be,_ a nasty thought whispers in Kaiba's mind. It sounds a lot like Otogi's. 

"I'll come with you to the den, Seto," Mokuba says uncertainly. 

Kaiba nods and waits for him to finish before the leave the house together. 

_"You're such a perfect knot-slut," Lady Councilwoman says as she kneels beside him to undo the shackles holding him in place. "But is that enough to keep your monster of a mate in hand?"_


	23. Chapter θ

“You done?” 

Kaiba sighs. “Come in, Jounouchi.” He’s bare-chested, trying to look over his shoulder and see his bite mark in the mirror. 

The door opens and submits the alpha into the tiled room. He stares at Kaiba. 

Kaiba runs his fingers over his shoulder, but he can’t feel the rise of his mark any more. “I think you need to bite me again,” he explains. He sighs and turns around to lather up his face to shave. 

As he concentrates, he can sense Jounouchi coming up behind him. He assumes he’s inspecting the bite mark for himself, so he ignores it. He scrapes some stubble from his cheek and lowers the razor. He runs it under the faucet, washing out the foam and hair. 

He hears his own shout of pain before the awareness of the tearing pain of teeth in his shoulder. The razor clatters into the marble of the sink. His eyes burn with tears and he clenches his fists on the countertop. 

The teeth hurt just as much coming out of his muscle as they did going in. He expects, at least, the soothe of a tongue to the wound. 

Werewolf saliva is made up of particular enzymes. Prior to the bite, a were’s saliva has anaesthetic properties--mates will generally prepare the bite area for the comfort of the recipient. During the first bite it has an anticoagulant that prevents the blood from clotting instantly, halting the supernatural healing process. After the initial bite, the chemical composition of the saliva changes to cauterize and disinfect the wound--something triggered by the release of pressure in the gums. 

Licking ones wounds has a scientific basis amongst their kind. Traditionally, mates will spend a period of time after the bite cleansing and closing the wound. 

It takes a long moment for Kaiba to realise the aftercare isn’t coming. He lifts his head and opens his eyes. Looking in the mirror reveals an empty bathroom behind him. He takes a shaky breath and fruitlessly tries to turn his head. But it’s the exact wrong angle, he can’t reach to lick his own wound. 

He took a deep breath and reins together his thoughts. The bite stings with pain as he crouches down and opens the cupboard under his sink. He pushes around the bottles, searching out the disinfectant he knows is in there. It’s dusty, but still in date. He soaks a washcloth and reaches around to press it against wound. 

His yell of pain echoes slightly against the tiles. If Jounouchi is close enough to hear it, he doesn’t come to investigate. 

Kaiba knows he ought to have handled this conversation better. Jounouchi has been out of sorts for the last few days. After the new moon, his instincts are flaring and acting up. He ought to have been clearer with his meaning. 

He told Jounouchi that he needed to be bitten. Well, the alpha had bitten him. 

Trying to keep his wounded shoulder still, he finishes shaving. He cleans the wound again and covers it in cotton and gauze. He dresses for work and goes downstairs. 

Mokuba is sitting at the counter, eating a plate of breakfast. 

“Where’s Jounouchi?” He asks. 

“Pacing around the sitting room,” the beta answers. “Everything okay?” 

“Can you take him running this morning?” He asks, instead of answering him directly. “Bring him to the theta at lunchtime.” 

The implication is there. Jounouchi needs supervision today. Supervision and exercise. 

Mokuba’s eyes are wide but he nods. “Are you going to eat breakfast, Seto?” He asks. “Jou made it.” 

“That’s not an incentive,” Kaiba replies. But he finds his plate warming in the oven and gets it out to eat. 

Jounouchi needs stability right now. He needs to express his instincts without resistance. It’s Kaiba’s responsibility--his council mandated responsibility--to make sure he’s satisfied enough to stay calm. 

The least he can do is eat the food his alpha has prepared for him. 

Keeping table is traditionally an omega task. The alpha is meant to hunt and--quite literally--bring home the bacon. Without the ability to shift, Jounouchi can’t hunt. If he can’t hunt, he can’t bring home game. So if cooking is the closest facsimile he can achieve, than to settle him in he can at least eat the food he served. 

“Hey Jou,” Mokuba greets. His voice is too hesitant, like he’s talking to a dog in a rage. Kaiba cuts him with a disapproving look. When he talks again, it’s in a normal tone of voice. “You up for a run this morning?” 

Kaiba turns to look and sees Jounouchi nodding in a distracted away. His eyes, unblinking, were watching his omega as he ate. A slight pleased growl rumbles, almost inaudible, from the alpha. 

Kaiba resists the urge to stiffen as Jounouchi steps up behind him and wraps his arms around his waist. He relaxes his muscles, melting into his chest. His bite wound burns at the pressure, but he ignores it. “Mokuba is going to run with you this morning and bring you to the den at lunch.” 

Jounouchi hums in acknowledgement. Kaiba supposes it’s the only acknowledgement he’s going to get for the moment. Jounouchi doesn’t speak when he gets like this, as he’s come to learn. It’s only been two weeks since they’ve mated, but Kaiba feels like he’s getting to know how to temper his alpha. 

Now if only he could get Mokuba to stop treating him sub-human. It only exasperates Jou’s temper. 

As he watches his brother and his alpha leave the house, he tidies up the plates and then goes to work. 

He’s halfway through a meeting when one of his directors politely interrupts to point out the blood soaking into the white fabric of his shirt. 

He forces out an easy laugh. “Apologies,” he says, “my mate was a little overenthusiastic this morning. Let’s adjourn.” 

“Yes, alpha,” they reply in sync. He ensures he’s the last one out of the meeting room, but he still rushes up to his office. 

“Hold all messages,” he tells his omega secretary, then closes the door firmly behind him. 

He strips off the suit jacket and hurriedly unbuttons the shirt underneath. The cotton and gauze are completely soaked. He dumps them in his wastepaper basket and heads into the adjoined bathroom to wash and disinfect. 

The office door is thrown open. “Seto!” Mokuba calls. “We’re back from our run.” 

“Give me a moment,” he calls, taping gauze back into place. The door is pushed open and he catches Jounouchi’s reflection in the doorway. He raises his eyebrow silently. “I asked for a moment, Jounouchi.” 

“You’re bleeding.” He’s actually speaking--the run must have been good for him. 

“It’ll heal,” he says. 

“S’it hurt?” The alpha asks, coming closer. 

“Not debilitatingly so,” he answers. The alpha gives a soft, confused whimper. Kaiba shakes his head. “You don’t need to worry about it. It’ll last longer this way.” 

Jou looks almost disappointed. He sighs and slips back out to the office. 

Kaiba opens a drawer of the cabinet and takes out a spare shirt, buttoning it up over his chest as he goes back out to his office. “So how was your run?” 


	24. Chapter ι

If Jou had been able, he might’ve wept in relief when he shifted on the full moon. Thankfully for his alpha dignity, his wolf form doesn't have the ability to cry. He runs in circles on the nature strip at the back of the Kaiba house, howling joyously. When he calms, he turns to the two waiting Kaiba brothers so they can share in his enjoyment. 

He notices Mokuba at first and feels himself wilting. The beta is on edge, tense as if ready to grab him at any moment. Mokuba is just like the rest of them. Terrified that Jou is going to snap at any moment and turn into a rabid beast. He makes himself seek out Kaiba, expecting to see the same look on his face. 

What he gets instead a relieved sort of smile. _Relieved I didn't immediately attack someone?_ He tenses as the omega approaches him, muscles relaxing against his will as long-fingered hands stroke down his back. "How's it feel?" He murmurs in a quiet voice. 

Mokuba can still hear it of course, but it gives a comforting illusion of a private moment. 

In answer to the question, he wags his tail. Kaiba laughs and strokes his fingers along it. "I'm glad to know whatever it was has finally worn off," he says. 

Jou tilts his head at him. Was that what he was relieved about? Not that he was calm? 

The moment, if they were having one, is broken. Seto rises to his feet and starts unbuttoning his shirt. "Come on. Our theta is waiting." 

That night, Jou runs with the Kaiba theta. Some of the wolves seem wary of him, but they at least follow their pack-alpha's example as treating him as normal. 

On the second night, the three of them run as a gamma. Kaiba sits back and watches with a composed expression as Jou and Mokuba play-fight with one another. 

On the third night, they meet up with Yami's delta. 

For Jou, the hardest part of the full moons have been the aftermath. That moment when he has to give up the wolf shift he's lived in for five years, the one that had been blocked from him for a full month. Filled with underlying terror that he won't get it back after he changes. 

Kaiba has been surprisingly good at being there for him in those moments. Keeping a distance when Jou needs it, giving him the long embraces when he needs to be soothed, talking to him when he needs the distraction. His omega is good with him, and it's a terrifying thought. 

He startles out of his thoughts when he hears a warning growl. He opens his eyes and surveys the glade around him for the noise. 

The hardest part for Kaiba, he thinks, has been finding his place with society's new opinion of him. Particularly with Yami's delta. He's been expected to play the role of the omega. As they prepared to hunt, Otogi had actually tried to herd Kaiba toward Yuugi and Ryou--the expectation being that he was not to go with them. Omegas didn't hunt. Kaiba had fought back at him, but the beta had only eased up when Jou had stood between the two of them and given him a warning growl. Kaiba had gotten his revenge by taking down their prey before Otogi's very eyes, right when the beta had been moving in for the kill. 

The playful chase had been much the same--Otogi had tried to goad Kaiba into calling off as soon as Ryou had done the same. Kaiba had forced himself to keep running well past Otogi's own giving up. (Yuugi had been the runner that night so Jou and Kaiba had deferred to let Yami catch him out of respect for their bond.) 

The friction was starting again. Kaiba, who had been playfully wrestling with Mokuba, had finished and was now coming to join his place in the circle. Otogi was growling because Kaiba had already walked past him. Clearly, the beta thought that his place should be further below him. Kaiba had visibly tensed, but wasn't otherwise reacting to the threat. 

Of course, Kaiba had always lay with the alphas--before or after Jou himself tended to be a matter of who'd run the furthest in the chase that night--but not since Otogi had discovered he was an omega. Remembering back, the same power play had been what caused Kaiba to leave the pack in the first place. And all the events that followed after that. 

Jou stood as Kaiba approached him. Showing his solidarity, he rubbed against his mate, circled him twice and then sat between him and the beta. It was a blunt move--he was actively placing Kaiba above him in the pack. He turned and stared down Otogi. His meaning was clear: if Otogi wanted to continue this power play, he'd have to go up against the alpha too. 

The beta seemed to be considering his chances, but a low warning growl from Yami broke the moment. Otogi huffed and turned his face away, setting his head on top of Honda's and nuzzling ever so slightly. 

Jou nearly startled in surprise. How long had they been mates? He sniffed the air slightly. They were hunt partners, so their scents had always mixed together to some extent. He couldn't smell any difference now, but their body language with one another is obvious. He turned to look at his omega to share in the surprise. 

Kaiba, however, wasn't looking at him. His head was resting on his paws, but his eyes were observing the pack-alpha and -omega. Jou looked himself to see what the fuss was about. 

Yami and Yuugi are easier to tell apart in their wolf forms. Their fur has really different shades and textures, much like he guesses their natural hair would if they didn’t style them so similarly. They’re curled up together, and the alpha is gently licking Yuugi’s ears. They’re a picture of comfort with one another. 

Jou turned his head back to look at Kaiba. The omega has his eyes closed and something about the tilt of his ears makes his alpha think that he’s upset. 

Jou thinks for the first time that maybe Kaiba _wants that_. Hesitantly, he shifts forward and licks one of Kaiba’s drooped ears. It twitches at the unexpected attention and blue eyes turn to look at him. He nuzzles into the neck and huffs slightly. 

Slowly, the omega relaxes. His eyes slip back closed and he presses his flank against Jou’s own. Pleased, Jou’s tail wriggles a few times and he continues grooming and licking his omega’s soft brown hair. 

Tomorrow is the mating moon. They’ll need each other and _maybe_ , they can be what the other needs. He closes his eyes and happily rests his head on his omega’s. He’s still out of sorts, hooking for the chance to get back to his free lifestyle. But when he’s with Kaiba, things are starting to feel like he has a steady ground to stand on. 

He could be happy here. The thought is almost terrifying on its own. 

  


The next evening, Kaiba goes into heat but Jou doesn't go into rut. 


	25. Chapter ια

The physician finishes making a note on his clipboard. “That concludes your check up, Alpha Kaiba,” he explains, tucking the pen into his pocket. 

Kaiba sits up and starts buttoning his shirt. “I had a question,” he says in a quiet voice. “Unrelated to my theta duties, of course.” 

The physician gives him a patient look. “Of course, Alpha Kaiba.” 

He takes a deep breath and folds his arms, trying to make himself as least vulnerable as possible. “My mate has stopped going into rut.” 

The physician considers him and tugs at his moustache slightly. He takes a seat on his stool, sitting at the same height at Kaiba on the gurney. “How long have the two of you been mated?” He asks, although he has to know the answer. 

“Four months,” he explains, studying the objects on the surface of the physician’s desk. 

“Hm,” the physician acknowledges. “And you are still going into heat?” 

He nods. “After moonrise on all three nights of the waning gibbous cycle.” 

“You still have a mating bite?” 

“Yes.” 

“It’s not an unusual, Alpha Kaiba,” he answers. “Admittedly, I usually see it in couples who have been mated for longer than you.” 

“What’s causing it?” He demands. 

“Disinterest, to be blunt sir. Omega heats are a hormonal cycle. Alpha heats--ruts, as you call them--are emotional and mental.” 

Kaiba swallows, his throat feeling tight and uncomfortable. He nods. “Thank you, Physician. I expect you will keep this conversation as confidential as you usually do.” 

“Of course, Alpha Kaiba,” he says, bowing slightly. 

Kaiba returns to work. It’s past normal working hours, but in that moment, he doesn’t care. For the past three months, Jounouchi hasn’t gone into rut. He’s seen Kaiba through his heats, and seemed happy enough to do so. But the proof is there. Jounouchi is not attracted to him. 

His omega secretary steps into his office hesitantly. “Alpha?” She asks hesitantly. 

“Yes?” He asks, looking up from the stacks of his paperwork. 

“May I go home, sir? It’s nearly moonrise.” 

He sighs and glances out the large windows of his office. “You may. Stay safe.” 

“Are you leaving soon as well, Alpha?” She asks, concerned. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he answers. “You may tell security to lock the other offices. I only need mine and the front doors left unlocked.” 

“Yes, sir…” 

She leaves, and he does his best to ignore her concern. He’s pushing it, but he might spend the night in his scent-proof suite It won’t be the only waning gibbous moon he has spent in his office. He has a number of aids for that purpose in a locked drawer. 

He feels the moonrise with heat coiling in his core. He moans and stands, hoping to get to the suite before too much of his scent can permeate the room. 

He’s slicked up an aid and prepared to take care of himself when he hears the door in the next room squeak open. He pauses, the tip of the toy pressed against his needy entrance. He had squeaky hinges installed so nobody could sneak up on him. But who would be coming to bother him now? 

He thinks for a moment that it might be Jounouchi. The thought is enough for him to be sitting up and watching the door curiously. 

When it opens, it’s not his mate standing there. It’s one of the alphas from his theta pack. He glares furiously. “What are you doing here?” He demanded icily. 

“I’ve come to offer my services, pack-Alpha.” He slinks into the room. His suit is impeccable, he’s well-groomed. And he _smells_ like an alpha in rut. 

Kaiba moans, feeling himself react to the smell. He yanks the sheets of the bed up over his waist. “You need to get out!” he snarls. “You’ve completely overstepped your boundaries!” 

“I know, Alpha,” he says, approaching closer. He climbs on the bed and straddles his legs either side of Kaiba’s lap. “But I want to help you. I’m hot for you, Alpha. You’re so hot, but where’s your alpha?” 

“I beg your pardon?” Kaiba demanded, closing his legs together tighter. The sensations of the soft sheets on his waiting entrance and the wet head of his dick are almost enough to derail his thoughts. 

“If your mate isn’t here, he can’t want you. I want you, and I’m here. Let me knot you, I’ll make you feel so good.” 

Up so close, the scent was clogging his brain. His hands rose up to hold the alpha’s broad shoulders. 

“You need a knot,” the alpha continued. “Everyone knows your alpha is only an arranged mating. Why not take someone you want?” 

The words cut through Kaiba’s heat haze and withered it away to nothing. He shoved him away. “Your assumptions are offensive. Pack up your things, you’re fired. Get the hell away from me and my theta.” 

The alpha looked pissed. He grabbed Kaiba’s shoulders and tried to force him down onto the bed. He pressed his crotch against the damp sheet by Kaiba’s slick entrance. “Fuck you!” he snarls. “You can’t reject me and you can’t fire me! Stupid bitch!” 

The heat he was feeling soured. It was easy now to pull back his fist and punch the alpha in the face. There was a satisfying crack as his jaw broke under the force. He started to get to his feet, but paused when he saw a hand grabbing the alpha by the collar and hoisting him to his feet. 

Jounouchi looked as if he was about to murder the idiot. Feeling frantic, he reached for the work pants and yanked them back up over himself. He rushed over to them and wrapped his arms around his alpha’s torso. 

“Jounouchi,” he says, leaning close to his ear and murmuring quietly to him. “I know you’re pissed, and I know he deserves anything you do to him but you _can’t_.” 

His alpha tensed slightly. Kaiba could practically _smell_ the shift underneath his skin. There was a growl building in his throat. 

“Jounouchi,” he said, trying to gentle one of his hands and pet his chest. “I _know_ you’re able to bring yourself in control. I need you to let him go.” 

An angry snarl was the response he got for that one. 

“I know what you’re capable of. I need you to take control.” 

He keeps saying the same sort of assurances, eventually coaxing Jounouchi to relax and settle back into comfort in his human shift. 

“Are you going to let him go, Jounouchi?” He asked in a gentle voice. 

Jounouchi growled. “No,” he said. “I’m going to fuck you and make him _watch_.” 

Kaiba swallowed. He hated the idea. He didn’t like the idea of knotting being seen by anyone. He hated anyone seeing him submitting to an alpha. It was bad for business. 

The alpha pulls him toward the bed and sits, tugging Kaiba down onto his lap. His hands slide along Kaiba’s bare back and one hand settles over the bite mark. The omega tries to relax into his hands, but the other alpha in the room prevents his heat from starting anew. 

Jounouchi seems to get frustrated by that. He slips one hand down to undo Kaiba’s suit pants. He thumbs open the button and slowly tugs down the zip. The fabric loosens enough that Jounouchi manages to slip a hand into his trousers. His fingers slip down the slick crack and press against the waiting entrance. 

He frowns slightly, meeting Kaiba’s eyes. The omega slides his eyes away, embarrassed. 

Jou growls and then turns his eyes on the trespassing alpha. “You heard him. You’re fired. Get the fuck out.” 

Kaiba listens to the scrambling sounds of the alpha leaving and slamming the door behind him. He relaxes, up until the point Jounouchi shoves him down roughly on the mattress. “What on earth?” He demands, propping himself up on his elbows. 

“You didn’t come to me,” the alpha says in a low, angry voice. “You stayed here and you were going to fuck yourself with _that_.” His eyes narrow in on the aid still half-covered in the sheet. 

Kaiba rolls his eyes and starts to redo the fastenings of his pants. “I decided I’d rather not bother you with a problem you have no desire to deal with.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jounouchi demands, scowling at him. 

“You don’t go into rut!” Kaiba snaps. “You don’t want me as your omega, that is what it means!” 

“Who the fuck said that?” Jounouchi demands. 

“Physicians!” he retaliates. “Alphas go into rut when they have an omega they want to mate with! Sorry to be such a disappointment to you!” 

The alpha clenched his fists and glared at him. “I still deal with your needs, Kaiba. I’m your alpha.” 

“Barely,” he snaps. “Apparently the whole territory is talking about how we’re a sham of a bond.” 

Jounouchi snarls slightly, then visibly seems to be calming himself down. “I enjoy what we do, Kaiba,” he replies. “I know you enjoy it, even if you’ve had to put up with me for it. What’s the problem?” 

“Put up with you?” Kaiba demands curtly. “What do you mean by that?” 

“It’s not like you actually want me,” he answers. “You’re perfectly willing to lie there and take it when your body makes you want it.” 

Kaiba glares at him. “I beg your pardon?” 

Jounouchi shrugs and folds his arms, glaring slightly. “You want me to be obvious about it, Kaiba? Then fine.” He inhales sharply. “You bend like a bitch to take it when your heat makes you think you want me. If you wanted me, actually wanted me, you would take charge like you used to.” 

Kaiba feels his fury burning in his chest. “You don’t want me because you’re unsatisfied with the sex position we use?” He didn’t mean that to come out quite so loudly. He’s glad, at least, nobody is around to hear it. 

He grabs his shirt and starts buttoning it back up. 

Once he’s calmed down enough to compose his thoughts, he says them. “You can make your excuses however you want, Jounouchi,” he answers. “If you’re going to make such a petty job of it, I want nothing to do with it.” 

He reaches for the rest of his suit and dresses properly. “I think I’m done for the night. Let’s just go home.” 

END OF ACT β


	26. Entr'acte Deux

Jou sits on the edge of the bathtub, watching Kaiba get ready for his day. He’d finished shaving the sparse stubble from his face and is rubbing some kind of lotion into his skin. Omegas tended to grow less facial hair than other male weres, particularly around the mating moon. Right now it was the waxing crescent cycle and Kaiba hadn’t been able to get away with skipping his morning shave. 

The omega pauses, his fingers pausing as they ran over the pale pink scar of his mating bite. He hums as he traces its shape. It’s jagged and sort of ugly, but Kaiba hadn’t wanted him to heal it any faster. So he’d let it heal naturally. 

“It’ll need renewing soon.” He says. 

Jou raises his eyes and meets the blue ones in the mirror. 

“In time for the waning gibbous moon,” his omega continues. Jou just tilts his head in question. “I was thinking we can do a small marking ceremony then,” he says, frowning slightly. Probably frustrated that Jou hasn’t already caught his meaning. 

The alpha nods. “Okay,” he says. 

Kaiba snorts and drops his hand back down to his side. “Try not to be too overenthusiastic, it’ll just be embarrassing for us both.” 

Jou huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes. He stands up and heads out of the bathroom. Over the next couple weeks, Kaiba’s mark will probably turn white and then begin to fade. It was what had happened to the other one. 

He heads to the kitchen to make breakfast for his gamma. Mokuba is quick to come, the beta hunting nose detecting the smell of food quickly. He rolls his eyes and slides Kaiba’s plate further from greedy fingers with a growl of warning. 

The omega didn’t often eat in the mornings. But on the off-chance he does today, he isn’t going to make him wait because his brother took the portion meant for him. 

“Are you coming into the theta den today?” The beta asks. He sounds a little too concerned for it to have been a casual question. 

He pretends not to notice though. Mokuba is easy to convince that he’s unaware of what’s going on. Kaiba is more observant, or maybe just knows him better. Together they pretend they’re not the only one who understands each other. 

Jou hands the beta his plate just as his mate comes into the room. 

Kaiba huffs as he sits down, pulling the plate toward him. “Why are my portions always cold?” He asks. The sulk is mostly joking, but there’s something of truth in his words. 

“Because Jounouchi makes yours first, you dummy,” Mokuba laughs, nudging his brother in the ribs. “If you didn’t spend so much time getting dressed every morning, you’d get hot breakfast.” 

Kaiba smirks slightly. “Jounouchi likes the way I dress though--don’t you?” Blue eyes turn on him, trying to bring him in on the joking playfulness between the two brothers. 

He forces a smile, but if feels strained to even him. It must look painful to the two brothers. 

They let it go. “So are you?” Mokuba asks. “Coming into the den?” 

Jou shrugs. “Maybe,” he says. “With lunch,” he adds, as an afterthought. 

The beta nods, but he still seems a little anxious about it. He must want Jou to come to the den but doesn’t want to press the point. He’ll try and remember to get there in time for lunch, then. 

He tidies a bit--puts off the actual cleaning for another day. He feels lethargic with the moon phase, minutes away from curling up to have a nap all the time. 

But he does succeed in making lunch for the brothers and taking it down to the theta den. He can remember, the first time he’d come here with Mokuba, feeling impressed by the tower of glass and steel. These days it just feels caging. 

Kaiba must have noticed at one point because between visits, he’d had more potted plants set up in his office, particularly around the couch Jou likes to nap on. 

Kaiba’s secretary is busy on the phone when he reaches the right floor. She looks as if she wants to stop him and say something, but he waves her off and walks straight into the office instead. He freezes after closing the door, noticing that Kaiba has company. 

But it’s not just any company. The Lady Councilwoman turns her head to see him and gives a cruel sort of smirk. “We were just talking about you,” 

He glances at Kaiba for an idea of what to do. The omega’s face is set in a cold, stern sort of disapproval. “Katsuya,” he says. “I know you’re eager to see me, but I asked my secretary to keep out everyone.” 

Kaiba has never called him by his given name once. Something is going on between his mate and the head of the council, but he doesn’t know what. He looks between them, uncomfortable and unsure. 

“She’s on the phone,” he says. “I have your lunch…” 

Kaiba gives him a sort of warm, happy smile that he thinks he’s seen one or two times during the omega’s heat. “It’s sweet of you to bring it in for me.” 

The councilwoman snorts and rises to her feet. “Don’t mind me,” she says. “I was just leaving. I’m sure you’ll change your mind, Alpha Kaiba.” 

She spares Jou a disdainful look as she leaves the room. 

He watches her go and turns a confused look on Kaiba, a questioning whine in his throat. The pack-alpha sighs heavily and rubs a hand across his forehead. “Council elections are next new moon,” he answers the unspoken question, “she is _hoping_ to rely on my vote.” The way he says it makes it obvious that hope is not what she’s doing. 

The alpha shakes his head clear of thought and then smiles at him tiredly. “Are you here for the afternoon? I can turn down the bed for you.” 

Jou snorts and goes to sit on the couch. He clearly means not to go into that closet of a room. He hasn’t been there since… He doesn’t like to recall that mating moon. Worried sick about his mate and then coming here to find Kaiba about to get fucked by a strange alpha. 

Kaiba just shakes his head fondly and comes to sit with him to eat his lunch. 

“Did she say something about me?” Jou manages to ask, once he is halfway through the meal. 

The omega pauses and sets down his sandwich. “Yes,” he answers honestly. “But not how you think. She was using you as a blackmail tool. She doesn’t care about you.” 

Somehow that answer doesn’t sound right to him. But Jou can easily tell that Kaiba believes it. “No?” He asks, hoping to get more information. 

Kaiba just sighs. “It’s not about you, Jounouchi. I don’t think it ever was.” 

The alpha huffs and goes back to his sandwich. Whatever was going to happen would. He’ll deal with it when it comes around. 


	27. Chapter Ⅰ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I really have no excuse. It's short too. It's more of an entr'acte than the last chapter but ehhhhh. Enjoy.

“Curiosity killed the cat, Mokuba,” Kaiba warned, looking up from his book. 

"Curiostity killed the cat, Seto," Mokuba says smugly, "but satisfaction brought it back!" 

"Are you a cat, Mokuba?" Kaiba asks, not looking up from his book. 

"No...?" Mokuba asks, giving Jounouchi a confused look. 

Jou isn't really paying attention to their conversation. Mokuba was asking the pack-alpha's permission to do something (probably dangerous) and was trying to argue his point now that he'd been told no. The alpha is reading his new comic, sometimes looking up from it to catch on to the conversation. 

"Then satisfaction will not bring you back if you get killed because you were curious about the wolf fights." 

Jou nearly drops the comic book. "Mokuba!" he says, shocked. "What the hell are you doing trying to get into the wolf fights?" 

The beta seems to be at least a little guilty. "Honda and Otogi say it's a rite of passage for betas!" he says insistently. "All the betas have done it." 

" _All of the betas_ are not my brother," Kaiba replies, finally looking at him from the book. "If you want to wrestle your fellow betas you can do it on the full moon." 

"It's not a fun game, Mokuba," Jou adds. "Some of those fighter wolves won't give up until their opponent is _dead_. I know for certain Honda has never been. His mother would cut his dick off." 

"Ew!" Mokuba says, cringing. "I don't wanna think about Honda's dick." 

"Then I'll keep bringing it up whenever you mention the wolf fights," he warns. "Seriously, _seriously_ bad place. I don't know what Otogi is trying to get you into, but don't pay attention to him." 

Kaiba nods in agreement, then goes back to his book. Mokuba sulks a bit, leaning against the couch cushions. 

Jou closes up his comic to get back to later. "Is that really how the saying goes?" He asks curiously. "With the second bit at the end?" 

"Ah-huh!" Mokuba answers. "There's heaps of sayings that people only know half of." 

"Every man for himself," Kaiba volunteers, "and devil take the hindmost." 

"Rome wasn't built in a day, but it burned in one," Mokuba offers. 

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," Kaiba retaliates. 

Clearly Jou has accidentally kicked off a game between the two brothers. He rolls his eyes and goes back to his comic book. He'll leave them to it. 

"My pack, right or wrong. If right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." 

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating." 

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." 

"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." 

"If you love something let it go, if it comes back it is yours. If it doesn't, it never was." 

Jou expects the instant retaliation from the older brother. The silence that follows is awkward. He looks up and caught an intense look between the two of them. Clearly the saying was about some conversation or issue they were having. 

He interupts with a laugh. "I guess Mokuba won that one, rich boy!" 

Kaiba glances at him and scowls slightly. "I suppose he did," he says after a while. He sounds distracted though, and quickly goes back to his book. 

It isn't until later Jou gets the opportunity to ask. "What was that about earlier?" 

Kaiba is standing at the sink in a pair of loose pyjama bottoms, brushing his teeth. They're about to go to bed, Mokuba went out earlier with Otogi and Honda, promising not to go to the wolf fights. Still, even just hanging out with the other betas he's unlikely to get home until dawn. 

The omega sighs and bends down to spit out the toothpaste. Jou spends the pause admiring the shapely muscle underneath the smooth silk. Kaiba sniffs slightly and catches the scent, smirking slightly at Jou in the mirror. But the moment passes quickly. 

"Mokuba and I have been having an ongoing conversation about...about our packs." There's something more to it than that, but Jou isn't sure what. Kaiba sighs again. "He's just reiterating his suggestion on the matter." 

Kaiba looks very agitated about it. Jou realises he may be talking about Mokuba leaving the theta pack to start his own. "Oh." He follows the omega out to the bedroom, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around the thin waist. "Try not to worry too much about it. Mokuba will always be your brother." 

That doesn't soothe him, but he nods and says, "thank you." 

Jou shifts over and nudges his nose against the white scar of his mating bite. "And you've got me." 

Kaiba sighs and relaxes a little at that. Jou can still kinda remember his own mating bite, and how a brush against it made him feel almost instantly reassured. He moves his mate to lie down on the bed and joins him, spooning up behind him and resting his chin on the same shoulder. 

He knows there are whispers about it. Weres around the territory seem to think that since neither of them have a visible mating bite, their relationship is only for legal reasons. Like, he and Kaiba aren't lovey-dovey with each other, but they've got an easy relationship. Kaiba understands him and, he may be a prickly bastard sometimes, but Jou enjoys Kaiba's company. 

He chose the shoulder bite so Kaiba could cover it up easily for work. It's traditionally the omega who is bitten and, though it's no secret now that Kaiba is an omega, there's no need to rub it in. It came with the bonus of not locking him into a mating bond either. Saves him from going into mating withdrawal if they leave the bite renewal for too long. 

He nuzzles into the bite slightly. "It's starting to fade out," he says. "We should mate again soon." 

Kaiba huffs, amused. "If this is a way of getting your knot away, Jounouchi," he says, his voice shows he's teasing. 

Jou laughs but doesn't say anything. 

His omega turns to look at him, frowning slightly. "You know you _can_ ask me if you want to knot," he answers. "You don't have to wait until my bite starts fading to do so." 

"Right," Jou says, frowning. It always come back to this. Kaiba doesn't want to knot, but he's _perfectly willing to take care of Jou's needs._ The fact of that has manifested in the fact that the alpha hadn't gone into rut on the mating moon since the first time. "It's fine. If you don't want to, we can wait until the moon again." 

The omega sighs heavily and turns to roll on his back. "That is not what I said, but whatever you say." He shifts to turn off the lamp on the side table and settles down to sleep. 

It is a long time before either of them manage to fall asleep. 


	28. Chapter Ⅱ

Kaiba is busy at the den of his theta when his secretary announces that his delta-alpha has requested a meeting. Technically he doesn’t have the right to deny a meeting. So he packs up the work he is doing and instructs her to let Yami in. 

He manages to look composed and patient when the alpha of his delta comes into the room; tries to act his best like he wouldn’t rather be dealing with the territory disputes right now. He treats Yami with the respect he is due, and hopes he’ll leave quickly. 

“We need to talk about Jounouchi,” the alpha says. 

No such luck. He sighs. “What is it exactly you want to talk about?” He asks impatiently. 

“I’ve been speaking with Mokuba…” 

Kaiba sighs heavily in irritation. “Oh not you as well.” 

“You can be excused from seeing the problem, Kaiba, you are his mate.” 

“There isn’t a problem Yami,” he answers impatiently. 

“Kaiba, it’s getting unsafe for him to be out with us in the full moon,” Yami says. “He’s too animalistic. It’s not safe for him to be around other weres.” 

Kaiba frowns. “What are you talking about?” He asks. “Jounouchi is the same as he’s always been.” 

“Precisely,” Yami says. “He’s still the half-wild wolf he was when he came back. There ought to have been some sort of improvement.” 

Kaiba scowls. “It’s not something that’s to be fixed, Yami,” he answers. “Jounouchi is what he is, what he always has been.” 

“The council arranged this mating in order to acclimatize him back to our society.” 

“The council had their own reasons for ordering the mating, but they were much less altruistic than you give them credit for.” He linked his fingers together and rested his chin on them. "The council is composed almost entirely of my former employees, men whom I fired and humiliated before the theta." He gives a regretful sigh. "I don't think it had anything to do with Jounouchi at all."

Yami frowns. "Jounouchi doesn't have the same responses as normal weres. He's unpredictable."

"Stop it," Kaiba says angrily. "You talk about him like he's a wayward pet that needs to be retrained."

"Don't give me opinions that are not my own," the alpha snaps. "Kaiba, Jounouchi doesn't act like a normal were and it's dangerous to the people he is around. It would be better for him, and to everyone else, if he were among his own kind."

"Jounouchi placed himself in my charge," Kaiba reminds him coldly. "He chose--actively chooses to be part of my packs, both of them I can claim as my own. His third loyalty is to you, which he chose without any expectation from the council." He lowers his hands, surveying the alpha. "Jounouchi is best where he wants to be, and he made his choice."

"Not of his own free will," Yami says. "The council forced him to make a decision to take an omega. He chose you for whatever reason, but I think we all know left to himself he would have continued on away from normal society."

Kaiba glares at him. "What do you expect me to do about it, then, Alpha?" He demands.

"There's a Lunar Pack outside the territory," Yami replies. "Ryou and Anzu have been to speak with them. They'll be nearest to Domino on the last night of the mating moon."

Kaiba continues to stare at him, expecting further extrapolation. Yami told him, commanded him with the authority of his delta-alpha, what it was he thought should happen.

It stays in his mind long after the conversation with Yami has concluded. That night, as he's lying in bed with his mated alpha, his thoughts come to culmination. "Jounouchi," he murmurs.

The blond must not be asleep. He immediately turns around and looks at him, eyes shining gold in the moonlight spilling through the open curtains. "Finally ready to talk about whatever's been on your mind all night, Kaiba?"

"I've heard rumours that there is a pack of lunatics running through neutral territory," he says.

"Oh, is that all?" Jounouchi laughs. Shifting across the mattress, he curls into Kaiba’s side with a content hum. "Yes, there is. My mother and sister run with them," he answers. "I've seen them myself a few times in the past."

Kaiba has his answer then. He sighs and reaches up to push his fringe out of his eyes. All that's left is to give Jounouchi his choices and let him take it without expectation. 

He stalls. “I thought you told me your mother and sister lived in America, with a new omega,” he says suspiciously. 

Jounouchi yawns. “I thought so,” he says. “It was a bit of a surprise to run into them out in the wild.” He hums slightly. “Nice, though.” 

Kaiba doesn’t answer. He stays silent for a long time. Then, finally, he makes himself say: "I'd like to spend the mating moon at the large gamma house," he tells him. "Would you...?"  
Jounouchi yawns. "It's your heat, Kaiba. We can knot wherever you like."  
Kaiba sighs. "You have a choice in this too." He settles into his bed properly and closes his eyes. "I intend to give you your choice." 

His alpha huffs slightly. He nuzzles into the fabric of Kaiba’s pyjama shirt and inhales deeply, a note of contentment entering his scent. “What I choose right now is for you to relax so we can go to sleep.” 

A smile fights at the corner of Kaiba’s lips. Even if Jounouchi had chosen him for superficial reasons in the beginning, he’d remained with him despite countless opportunities to get out of this. 

He takes one of Jounouchi’s hands gently and starta sliding it down his torso. “Are you sure about that?” He asks, smirking. 

The alpha growls playfully and starts leading his own hand, slipping underneath the soft cotton fabric of his sleepwear. “I suppose we don’t have to go to sleep quite yet.” 

In the silence of the aftermath, Kaiba rests back against Jounouchi. The sweat between them is cooling and there would be a rather prominent wet patch on the bed he’d have to deal with later. For now, he turns his head and kisses the top of Jou’s sweaty forehead resting on his shoulder. 

The alpha rumbles pleasantly and starts nosing at the bite mark. Kaiba hums slightly and reaches for his hand, threading their fingers together. “Don’t you dare fall asleep while you’re still locked in me, Jounouchi Katsuya. Last time I couldn’t sit properly for the entire day.” 

“I won’t, Kaiba Seto,” the alpha replies, laughing slightly. “I promise.” 

“We could try and lie down, if that would be more comfortable. Am I crushing you?" He asks. 

Blunt human teeth dig into the scarred skin of his shoulder. "Relax, would you? You're never this worrying when you're in heat." Hands slide around to wrap around his stomach. "You're not that much taller than me." 

Kaiba can hardly pay attention to the second half of his comment. "Have we really never knotted outside of my heat?" He asks. 

Jounouchi hums. "The first time," he says. "When I was drugged into rut." 

"Surely we've..." He pauses. "We must have..." But he can't remember a single time. Twelve cycles together and they hadn't knotted a single time outside of his heat before this night. He frowns at that. He'd thought that Jounouchi had wanted him as a mate, but if this was only an aspect of their official mating... 

A tug, a loud squelch and a rush of liquid sliding out of him signals the release of the alpha's knot. 

"See?" He teases. "Told you that I wouldn't fall asleep in you." 

Kaiba acknowledges him with a low hum. He climbs out of his lap and sits on the edge of the mattress with a groan. "I'll shower," he says. He feels as if he has to justify his leaving. "Then I'll need to change the sheets." 

Jounouchi shifts until he's lying comfortably against the carved bedhead. "I'm starting to see why we don't do this when you're not hot for it." He says. "You worry too damn much. Isn't this supposed to have relaxed you?" 

Kaiba just shoots a glare at him over his shoulder and rises to his feet. 

When he comes back out of the shower, Jounouchi has stripped the bed and left the room to wash them. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maybe one day I'll come back and write the porn from the middle of the chapter. Maybe.


	29. Chapter Ⅲ

The old Kaiba house is old and very run down. The decade of neglect was obvious. The dust irritated Jou's nose, but he enjoyed the wild feeling of the abandoned den. On the night of the delta moon, they skipped out on running with Yami and the others. They ran the edges of the territory, and ended the night at the unnecessarily large house. 

Kaiba had sent an omega from his theta to prepare a few rooms for them. He collapses into the bed with his mate after the sun has risen. The bed is large and soft, but Jou (still craving physical contact from the full moon) presses against his omega's side to sleep.

Both of them are surprised the next morning to find that he's gone into a rut. Jou is consumed by his need, he only half-notices the pleased surprise in his mate's eyes. The hours of the late morning and afternoon are a desperate haze. 

His mate is close and his scent clearly reveals his arousal, but he isn't allowed to knot him properly. There's a deep, rough voice in his ear, begging him to _be patient, save our energy, we'll have all night once the moon rises and my heat begins._ It seems to be saying a lot of sensible things.

Then, finally, the moon rises and he smells the sweetness shift the scent in the air. He moans desperately. "Omega," he pleads, and tries to rise from the mattress.

Firms hands press him back down, but he's relieved to feel a heavy weight settling on his hips. He turns his head and sniffs at the slick fingers on his shoulder. He licks along one of the fingers and then sucks it into his mouth. He moans at the enticing flavour. He receives a low, needy moan in return. He rumbles in pleasure at the sound, his hands coming up to hold the slender waist of his omega. 

"Alpha," that deep voice, usually so calm, begs, "please. Knot me."

"Oh, my uke," Jou gasps, arching his hips and rubbing his dripping dick against the slick crack of his omega's ass. "My perfect, strong uke." 

Kaiba moans in desperation and thrusts his hips backward, impaling himself on the alpha's dick. Jou cries out his pleasure, bucking his own hips and going as deep as his dick can go. His needy knot presses tight against the waiting entrance, but his uke isn't loose enough to receive him yet. He eases his hips back down to the bed, feeling the slick glide of his dick, the warm inner muscles gripping him. 

His omega lowers himself down, grinding down against the knot that will satisfy them both. Pressing his weight down on the hands at Jou's shoulders, he rises himself and slowly sinks back down. He moans as the alpha's dick rubs against his prostate and the slick, warm muscles grip him tightly. 

Kaiba rides him and each thrust sends Jou's pleasure rocketing higher and higher. He cries out loudly and gives a sharp, forceful thrust upward. His knot bursts through the ready clench and he moans, beginning to come as the tight vice squeezes his knot.

Whether it's the tease of the long hours in rut, or the long series of cycle it's been since his last knot, Jou's orgasm seems to last forever. When it finally eases off, he opens his eyes and looks up. He meets Kaiba's eyes straight away, the blue staring down at him intensely. He smiles slightly. "Making fun of my orgasm face again, omega?"

There's a slight pinkness in Kaiba's cheeks that might be a blush, or is more likely the flush left over from the exercise of their knotting. "You always look ridiculous, Jounouchi Katsuya."

Jou laughs and adjusts his hips, testing the swell of his knot. It's still firmly stuck. "Well. You're stuck with me."

Kaiba rolls his eyes, unimpressed with the joke. He shifts his legs, moving from a kneeling position. Jou raises his own knees to give him something to lean back on as the omega stretches out his legs to lie straight on either side of Jou's torso. Kaiba meets his eyes easily, a smirk playing at his lips. "You're in a rut."

"And you're in a heat," Jou answered, confused by the comment.

The omega shakes his head, still smirking. "You can't pretend you don't want me now, Katsuya," he taunts. "This proves it."

Jou makes a surprised noise, hands resting on Kaiba's knees. "Was that ever in question, Seto?" He asks with a little confusion. "I chose you."

"You chose me because the council forced you to choose someone," Kaiba answers, now avoiding his eyes. "Because I have the most properties in the territory."

Jou stares. Why does that sound familiar...? He gasps softly as he realised. "Wait, you heard that?"

"Yes, Jounouchi, I've known from the beginning." 

Jou laughs. "Is that what you thought this whole time, Kaiba? That I mated with you because you're rich?"

“Are you telling me that’s not the reason why?” Kaiba demands. He’s angry, but Jou would bet he’s not angry at him, he’s angry at himself for having the wrong information. 

“That is what I told Lady Councilwoman,” he replied. “But I could hardly tell her my real reason?”

“You had another reason then?” There’s a guarded sort of hope in Kaiba’s eyes.

Jou hates to crush it. “Yeah,” he says. “I figured you’d refuse. Or at least put it off. That way I’d have time to escape the territory.”

Kaiba’s expression following that is completely blank. Jou knows him well enough by now to know that he’s really upset. “That would explain why you kept jumping out of my bathroom window.” His eyes narrow. “So. Why did you stop trying?”

“Well…” He sighs. “Which I was in the bath, Mokuba told me I couldn’t go. You were responsible for me; my running away would cause you trouble.”

A cold, angry eyebrow rose in a sharp movement. “I don’t need your protection.”

Jou rolls his eyes and pinches the skin of his thigh slightly. “I _know_ that,” he answers, irritated. “It wasn’t about protecting you. Not really.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s… hard to explain. It was fine when there was no one paying for my actions on my own. But I don’t want anyone else to have consequences for my mistakes.”

Kaiba rolls his eyes. “How distasteful.” If he was in a better mood, he probably would’ve called it noble. He eases himself up, the alpha’s knot sliding out of him. 

Jou totally expects the omega to get up and go off to the bathroom. It’s where he usually goes to sulk after a knotting. Instead, he’s surpised to see Kaiba lying beside him and tracing fingers along his chest. 

“How long until you’re in the next wave?”

Jou makes some sort of answer. He wonders why Kaiba is being so intimate with him after their fight. 

Two nights later he gets his answer.


	30. Chapter Ⅳ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took forever. My laptop broke and I've had major writer's block. It's super short too. Hopefully the next one can be longer.

When Jounouchi smells them coming, he perks up his ears to confirm what his nose is telling him. It’s a long time before hears the familiar voices. 

He jumps to his feet and whines happily. An impatient growl follows his movement and a slight nip at his back leg. He just pulls his leg away and wags his tail eagerly. 

He never thought he’d see them again. As soon as they came close enough, he bolts toward the two approaching wolves. He howls in greeting, the cry of their pack. There is an unhappy sigh behind him as he races away from the sleeping omega. 

There is thick underbrush in this part of the forest and it’s hard work to push through to forge a new path directly to the waiting wolves. Eagerly, he rubs against the beta female and then turns to nuzzle against the patient omega. 

A moment later he shifts, and that is the unspoken permission for the others to do the same. He grins. “It’s been a long time.” 

Anzu and Bakura smile at him, but there’s something strained around their lips. “Almost a year, I think,” the omega says carefully. “How’s the lunar pack.” 

Jou shrugs. “Same as we always are,” he replies. “I’d rather be running alone than with these guys, but they tell me there’s safety in numbers.” He sits on an upturned log and looks up at them. “What brings you guys out here?” 

Anzu sighed. “We need to talk to Kaiba,” she says. 

He frowned slightly, looking at them expectantly. After a bit of silence, he says: “yeah. So? What are you guys here for?” 

Bakura gives a startled sort of look. “He’s with you.” 

His frown only grows. “No…?” He says uncertainly. “Did he leave territory recently to come and visit me or something? Why would you think that?” 

Anzu gives him a serious look. “Jounouchi this isn’t a joke. Mokuba’s being harrassed by the council about their theta and we need Kaiba to come home and deal with it.” 

_“Let me deal with the consequences, Jounouchi. I don’t need your protection from the council.”_

“Kaiba’s not here, is he?” Bakura asks in a small, defeated voice. 

“No,” Jou answers. “I don’t know why you thought he would be. They don’t allow other kinds of wolves in the lunar pack. Even if they’re mated.” 

Bakura and Anzu look at each other. “Where can he be?” The omega whispers. 

“He can’t have gone far,” Jou says, trying to be light about the situation. “How many days has he been missing for?” 

“Nearly a year,” she replies flatly. 

That brings Jou to a stop. Kaiba has been missing as long as he’s been gone…? 

“Everyone thinks he’s with you,” Bakura says, sounding distressed. “If he’s not here, then…” 

“Where did you hear that?” He demands. 

_“If I go then the council is gonna come after you. This is what they’ve been waiting for.”_

_“I can face down the council. Forget about that.”_

“Um…” The two members of his former delta pack exchange looks. “I heard it from Otogi,” she says. 

“And he heard it from…” 

“The rotunda,” Jou finished. “The council.” 

_“What if they try and hurt you?”_

_“Stop it! You can’t use me as an excuse any more, Jounouchi. If you want to leave, then go now. I don’t want you to st-ay if you’re only here to protect me.”_

“Oh no,” Bakura says. 

“His old board of directors,” Jou says, a low growl building in his throat. “They got to him. Probably as soon as I left the territory. They were just waiting to make their move. To get their revenge.” 

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Anzu cautioned. “We’ll have to go back to the territory, do some searching. Now we know he’s not out here with you…” 

“The trail’s a year cold,” Jou interrupts. “I’m coming with you. I know his scent better than any of you. It’ll be easier for me to find him.” 

Bakura glances in the direction he came. “Don’t you want to stay with your pack?” He asks. 

The alpha shakes his head. “No. Kaiba is more important.” 


	31. Chapter Ⅴ

Jou leaves the rest of the pack behind when he finds the lead. He had been specifically instructed not to, but he only needs to obey Yami as far as he wants to. When he catches the scent of Kaiba clinging to the fabric of a council’s muscle-beta, he should really go straight to Yami so the delta can gather to follow him. 

Instead he follows the guard as discreetly as he can manage. He walks with Lady Councilwoman, taking her to a huge house in the middle of the upper class section of the territory. 

The smell of Kaiba is stronger around here. It’s not too recent, but he can tell Kaiba arrived here and hasn’t left here. He circles the property, keeping in the shade of the trees and out of sight. 

The guards rotate every hour and, on the third cycle he slips past an empty courtyard and in through a pair of glass doors. He sniffs, searching out the scent. He follows it through thankfully empty corridors until he stands behind a set of wooden doors. He smells the scent of his former mate strong inside. A moment to pause and he hears relaxed breathing and the turn of a page. 

He throws the door open and inhales deeply as he sees Kaiba Seto sitting in a large, plush armchair. Slowly, the omega lowers his book and gives him a disappointed look. “I thought you were smarter than this.” 

Before he can speak, a burst of pain explodes from the back of his head and everything goes black. 

  


// 

  


Kaiba launches out of his seat to try and catch Jounouchi before he hits the ground. There’s the clank of chains and his foot jerks backward, nearly tripping him. The beta guard grabs a handful of blond hair and prevents him from hitting the ground. 

“I did tell you he’d come for you.” The hated voice precedes Lady Councilwoman entering the room. 

“So you know my mate, better than I do,” he drawls, unimpressed. He picks up the book and holds it in his hands. The movement doesn’t disguise the trembling of his hands from the woman, but it fools the guard. “If you’ve got what you wanted, can I go home now?” 

She snarls. “Don’t be stupid, omega, it doesn’t become you. Do I look victorious to you? He came alone, I need the entire pack.” 

He meets the councilwoman’s eyes. “So, what then?” He asks. 

“That’s my business,” she answers curtly. “But for now, you can be happy with the knowledge that you get some company.” 

She nods to the guard, who roughly tosses Jounouchi at the omega. He fumbles with the book and his numb hands, catching the alpha with his chest more than his arms. He stumbles back, collapsing into the armchair at the additional weight. 

The guard kneels down and unlatches the shackle from around his ankle. 

“Have some pride, Seto,” she says condescendingly. “Pick him up. You’re going back.” 

He’s not up to the task, but he does. He drops the book, then picks Jounouchi’s limp body up. His muscles tremble with the additional weight. The guard jabs him in the back, forcing him to walk ahead of them both. 

Descending the stairs is the worst task and he nearly drops the alpha multiple times when he has to grab the banister to stop himself from falling down the flight. Eventually, they reach the floor of the basement. 

Lady Councilwoman removes a key from underneath her shirt, unlocking the glass door. He steps inside and the door snaps shut behind him. The lock engages and the air conditioning begins to filter into the cell. 

He lays Jounouchi on the stretcher bed, then sits on the floor. He remembers his book sitting on the armchair upstairs. 

“Enjoy your company, Seto,” the councilwoman says mockingly, and she retreats upstairs. The guard sits on a chair and stares in through the glass walls of his cell. He does his best to ignore him there. 

He’s weak and nauseous. He can’t remember the last time he managed to keep food down. He rests his head on the stretcher and tries to breathe through it. 

An hour or so later, Jounouchi stirs awake. He shifts slightly, then whispers: “what the hell?” 

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Kaiba says, not bothering to lift his head. “Get off my bed, I need to lie down.” 

“Why’s that…?” He trails off as he inhales the air. “What the hell? You’re in bonding withdrawal?” 

“Oh really, I hadn’t noticed,” he deadpans. 

Jounouchi grabs his collar and yanks him up to snarl in his face. “Who is it?” He snarls. 

Kaiba shrugs. 

The alpha jerks him roughly. “I said _who_?” 

“I don’t fucking know, Jounouchi,” he replies. “They don’t tell me their names and I’m not usually in any state of mind to ask.” 

The realisation can be tracked in Jounouchi’s expression. He reaches up and weakly tugs his shirt collar out of the alpha’s grip. He collapses on the tiled ground and thinks about staying put. “Kaiba…” 

It sounded so pitying. 

He snarled weakly. “Don’t,” he snapped. “Don’t pity me.” 

The alpha gets off the bed and starts to lift him up onto the stretcher. “How long…?” 

“Two weeks,” he answers. “They induce it in the new moon.” 

“And the mating moon?” Jounouchi asks. 

He lies back on the stretcher and closes his eyes. “They don’t need to induce it then.” 

“Holy shit, Kaiba,” the alpha says, “how can you be so casual about this?” 

He shrugs. “It’s been a year. Animals don’t last so long in captivity as I did.” 

“You’re insane,” Jounouchi says, his voice full of shock. 

Kaiba opens his eyes and turns his head to look. The blond is sitting against the glass wall, watching him. He hummed slightly. “Perhaps,” he says. “It’s hard to tell from this perspective.” He closes his eyes again and breathes deeply. “I had to drop my book to carry you. It was a really good chapter, too.” 

“...is there something I can do for you, Kaiba?” 

He hummed. “Wake me when the food comes. I should manage to eat some of it then.” 


	32. Chapter Ⅵ

“What exactly does she want with me?” 

He doesn’t know how long it’s been. There’s been a dozen meals, but the light never turns off and the guards change whenever they feel like it, if they’re present at all. Kaiba sleeps and recovers from the withdrawal of a bonding that Jou is pretty sure he couldn’t have actually consented to. 

The question he’s asked too many times and he usually gets the same answer. “Bait.” He wonders if that’s a complete answer to Kaiba’s mind. He’s not entirely sure if Kaiba is batshit insane, or whether he’s just acting strange because he’s had no company for eleven months. 

Kaiba rolls his head and turns to look at him. “You’re bait,” he answers. “Are we to go over this every couple of hours?” 

“You’re still being annoying vague,” Jou says. “Who am I bait for?” 

“Can you not work that out for yourself?” Kaiba asks, staring at him. It’s a familiar look, one that tells Jou that the omega thinks he’s being stupid. “Who would come after you?” 

“Yami, I guess,” Jou says uncertainly. 

Kaiba blinks. “If she wanted them, she would’ve asked Mokuba a ransom for me.” Jou frowns in thought. He reaches forward to flick the alpha’s nose. “Think. Who do you have ties to that I don’t?” 

Jou sits up. “The Lunar pack?” He asks. 

Kaiba rolls his eyes. “Really, Jounouchi. Took you long enough. I must have forgotten how stupid you are.” 

“Shut up,” Jou says, irritated. “The councilwoman took me captive to lure the wild pack out?” The omega doesn’t answer. “What does she want? To negotiate with them?” 

“Nothing so civilized,” Kaiba replies. “She’s done research, drawn her conclusions.” 

Jou swallows. “What did she _conclude_?” 

“Eradication,” the omega replies, with a terrifying calmness. “Something to do with breeding them out. I rarely listen to extremist propoaganda.” 

“She’s gonna murder us all?!” Jou yells, outraged. 

“Bait,” Kaiba answers calmly, then closes his eyes again. 

“Would you stop being so fucking calm for five minutes?” Jou shouts, getting to his feet. “I just found out there’s a woman trying to hold me hostage to draw out my people so they can be lined up and--” 

“Put down?” Kaiba suggests, his voice emotionless. At the fierce look he gets from the alpha, he says: “her words, not mine.” 

He starts pacing around the small cell, occasionally looking at Kaiba as he works to sit up on the stretcher bed. 

“What am I supposed to do?” He demands. “Can I fight back? Can I challenge her?” 

Kaiba chuckles. “If I knew how to best her, do you think I’d have stayed here for eleven months?” He asks dryly. He sets his feet on the ground, shoulders bowed heavily with tiredness. “You might be different. You don’t have the curse of your own biology to contend with.” 

“Are you okay?” Jou asks, coming over to him. 

“You can rest,” he says quietly. “I’m starting to feel less lethargic. It’s full moon tomorrow.” 

Jou raises his eyebrows slightly. Now that he mentioned it, the alpha can feel the prickle under his skin. “Am I going to be allowed out to run?” He asks. 

“Uncertain,” he says. “On one hand, it will be more difficult to keep track of you if you’re running. On the other, letting you run might draw the Lunar pack. You might be given an electronic leash.” 

Jou shudders. An electronic leash, a barrier that would prevent him from leaving the territory. “Why didn’t she give me one of those before?” He demands. 

“Are you entirely unable to think for yourself, Jounouchi?” The omega asks, getting onto shaky feet. Jou steps beside him, steadying him on his feet. Heaving a deep breath, he shrugs the alpha’s hand off. “Her motives have always been the same,” he says. “She wants you and every lunatic dead. But she needs to catch them first.” 

“She expected me to run away,” Jou says. “To run and join them.” 

“Finally you figure it out,” Kaiba says. He walks across the room and leans against the room peering out of the cell into the darkness outside. “As I understand it, she was impressed with the devotion that kept me at your side for so long.” 

Jou scowls. “Yeah, well. I wouldn’t have left if you hadn’t shoved me away.” 

Kaiba turns, pressing his back against the glass as he stares unblinkingly at Jou standing by the bed. “Shoved you away?” He repeats. 

“Yes, shoved me,” Jou growls. “We were just starting to get on with it and you said I had to go.” 

“That is not what I said,” Kaiba replies. But there’s a small crease growing between his eyebrows. If Jou can remember the omega’s expressions, he seems to be worrying whether what he remembers is true. “I said that you didn’t have to stay if you were just here to protect me from the council. If you wanted to leave, then you could! I let you go, Jounouchi Katsuya; and you didn’t come back.” 

“What the hell do you call this then?” Jou snaps. “Anzu and Bakura tracked the pack down and found me. They thought you were with me. I came back as soon as I knew there was something wrong!” 

“You came back,” Kaiba repeats in a slow, even voice. It sounds like he hadn’t thought of that before. 

The sudden silence between them feels electric. He isn’t sure what it means. 

Kaiba steps forward, and then one of his knees buckles. Jou is racing the four steps it takes to reach him on instinct, catching his shoulders and steadying him. “Maybe you should lie down, Kaiba. You ain’t out of withdrawal yet.” 

Kaiba nods and lets Jou walk him to the stretcher bed. Once he’s sitting down, the alpha tries to step away and give him his space. A long-fingered hand grips his sleeve in a surprisingly strong grip. “Stay.” 

Jou blinks, surprised. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll stay.” 

A smile flickers over Kaiba’s face, but it disappears quickly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys. This fic has now broken over 2000 hits and 75 Kudos. I'm so honoured you guys are reading this! I know chapters haven't been good of late, I've got pretty brutal writer's block for this plot. But I'm going to finish it, for all those of you who are still reading.


	33. Chapter Ⅶ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologise for this chapter. It's short and awkward. Writer's block is terrible.

Kaiba watches as the guards grab Jounouchi’s arms and start dragging him toward the door of the cell. It’s a little disappointing to suddenly have an absence of company. He’s become used to having Jounouchi around--his scent permeating the room as it shifted through his frustrations, the sounds he made, the shift of movement. The glass cell without him feels empty. 

They drag Jounouchi away up the stairs. He fights against them a little, but not too strenuously. It’s the full moon and they’re both aware that the alpha is being sent up to run. Whether he’s going to come back or not, however… 

High heels clicks on the tile and he turns his head to see the Lady Councilwoman approaching the glass of his cell. “Good evening.” 

She smirks at him. “If you’re lucky,” she says, “my plans may come to fruition tonight and you can be free to return to your brother tomorrow morning.” 

His eyebrows twitch upward in surprise. That’s new. She’s not said anything to that effect since he’d been in captivity. He laughed at her and watched the anger flicker over her face. “Lady Councilwoman,” he says, “do you truly believe that the pack is coming for Jounouchi?” 

She scowls at him. “Those beasts protect their own. They will come to claim him back.” 

“They didn’t the last time,” he replies, sitting on the bed and looking at his nails. “Jounouchi made his choice to leave the pack. I doubt they hold any loyalty to him at all.” Not to mention the fact that the alpha had left their pack in order to seek out his non-lunatic half-mate. “This plan is as futile as your last.” 

“My prior plans have worked as they were supposed to,” she says. “The beast left you to find his pack, and came back when you were in danger. I have patience, Kaiba Seto. The greater good is never easy to work for.” 

Kaiba lowers his hand and stares at her through the glass. She must be more affected by the full moon than she likes to let on. “You might as well tag him with a tracker and send him back out to find them. That has more chance of working than this plot.” 

“You know that you are being monitored constantly,” she says, her voice condescending. “I am well aware that you have told him what I plan to do. Even he is not stupid enough to lead me straight to them.” 

Kaiba chuckles. “You have a higher opinion of Jounouchi’s mental capacity than I do,” he comments. He moves his hands behind his back, holding a wrist with the other hand. “How may I help you?” 

She smirks and doesn’t answer his question. “How’s your withdrawal?” She asks instead. 

He narrows his eyes at her. “I can’t see why you should care at all,” he answers coolly. 

Lady Councilwoman only continues to smirk. “I’m running out of alphas who can stuff your needy hole, you see,” she tells him. “But thankfully I’ve had some volunteers to take another turn. You remember Brutus, right?” 

He feels the blood draining out of his face. Fear throbs through him like a physical pulse and he steps back. “What do you want?” He growls the demand. 

She chuckles. “There’s the obedient omega I expect,” she taunts. “If things don’t go well tonight, you will...convince the beast to draw out his brethren.” 

Kaiba wants to asks what will happen if he refuses, but he knows the answer. Brutus. It’s not the name he was given at birth, but it’s a very accurate nickname. “And if I can’t?” He asks, swallowing the bile crawling up his throat. 

She grins cruelly. “Brutus has a brother.” 

He moves to sit down, his knees too weak. She laughs, the voice a piercing, cruel sound, and goes back up the stairs. He stays on the stretcher, trying to calm himself. By dawn, they’re dragging Jounouchi back to the cell and tossing him inside. He keeps still, trying not to give away his mental state. 

“Good run?” He asks. 

“Not bad,” the alpha says, getting to his feet. He pauses, then frowns at Kaiba. “What’s wrong?” 

Kaiba just raises an eyebrow. He never said anything was wrong. 

“I know that look,” he says impatiently. “That’s your _I’m pretending everything is fine_ look. What happened while I was out?” 

Kaiba avoids his eyes. “Lady Councilwoman came down for a chat and a friendly threat between captor and captive.” 

“What’s she want?” The alpha demands, sitting next to him. 

“Me to convince you to get the lunar pack here,” he answers. 

“Or else?” 

“Or she’ll make the mating moon very uncomfortable for me,” he says vaguely. “I would rather not discuss the matter. I would rather suffer than put an entire pack of weres to death. End of conversation.” 

The alpha doesn’t say anything to that. He lies down and closes his eyes. In a few minutes, he’s snoring obnoxiously. Kaiba rolls his eyes and lies down on the space left on the stretcher. He doesn’t sleep however. 

  



	34. Chapter VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I am so sorry guys. This chapter has been sitting half-written in my google doc for way too long.

Jou wakes up, his body hot with arousal, and the taste of omega slick on his lips. He moans slightly, half asleep. Kaiba’s heat is thick in his nose. A familiar weight settles over his lap. He is pretty sure he should be wearing pants but it’s a thought that doesn’t stick around for long. He arches his hips up slightly and feels the tip of his dick rub against a slick crack. 

“Yes,” Kaiba moans. There’s an odd note of desperation to his voice, but Jou can only guess he’s waited too long for his alpha to wake up. 

Jou groans in pleasure as his omega begins to sink down, slick tight warmth slipping over his dick. “Kaiba,” he says, reaching to grab his hips. His arms aren’t being very co-operative, however, so he leaves them where they are and thrusting up. 

Kaiba gives the usual moan that says they’ve found his prostate. 

Too soon for his liking, Kaiba is slamming down and taking his knot. He comes with a cry, the world blissing out for a few long minutes. He feels teeth in his neck and the flare of their mating bond coming back to life. 

When he opens his eyes, some of the realisation is coming back. Above him is a ceiling of clear glass, with the slats of a basement roof beyond. On the other side of the bond, all he can feel is guilt and panic. 

Teeth pull out of his neck and a frantic apology tumbles from his omega’s lips. “I’m sorry,” he says frantically, over and over again. 

Jou moves to cup his face and look into panicked eyes. “Kaiba?” 

“I couldn’t go through it again,” he says, voice bubbling from his throat, “not with...and not the withdrawal. Jounouchi, I couldn’t. I’m sorry…” 

Jou rests their foreheads together and tries to force calm and reassurance across the bond into the panic. “Kaiba. I’m not angry with you. It’s alright. We’ve mated before.” 

Something must have gotten through to him, because he relaxes just slightly. The panic on the other side of the bond is muted. He pulls himself up, knot coming out with a slight tug. 

Jou doesn’t let him go far. The alpha wraps his arms around the slim waist and pulls him close, holding him tightly. He kisses the top of his head. “We only have to wait three days,” he reassures him gently. “Just three days, my sweet uke. You can last that long can’t you?” 

Kaiba makes an irritated noise, probably at being spoken to like a frightened dog. But he curls closer and stays relaxed in his grip. 

Kaiba is in another wave when Lady Councilwoman re-enters, smirking as if she has won a game. The expression sours like hot milk when she sees them mating and finds the bloody mess on Jou’s neck. 

She growls furiously. “Kaiba Seto, is this your attempt to defy me?” She demands. 

He ignores her entirely, and Jou can only feel bliss and heat on the other side of the mating bond. 

She narrows her eyes at the alpha instead, but he merely smirks in her direction. If he attempts to come between him and his new mate, he will tear her in pieces. By the look in her eyes, she can tell as much. 

Instead of turning on her heel and leaving in disgust like he expects her to do, she crosses over to the chair sometimes occupied by guards and takes a sit. Her ankles are crossed neatly, and she watches them with hands clasped in her lap. 

He refocuses his attention on his needy omega, giving a growl and thrusting up into the slick warmth. Kaiba moans and clenches around his shaft. One hand is clenched around Jou’s thigh and the other is fisted in his own hair, tugging eagerly with every other thrust. 

He would’ve taken over that job hours ago, but Kaiba had growled at him the last time he’d tried. 

It seems to take hours for the slick entrance to wrap tight around his knot, and he might’ve made some embarrassing noises and whispers to try and convince his mate to hurry the process. 

Once the haze of Kaiba’s heat passed, he tugged the blanket up over their skin and turned to glare at Lady Councilwoman. “May I help you?” He asked coldly. 

Jou hid his smile behind Kaiba’s shoulder, inhaling his omega’s scent. He smells like happy, satisfied omega and for the moment the thrum on the other end of the bond is mostly contentment. There’s a crust of irritation, directed at Lady Councilwoman, and an undercurrent of terror that Jou isn’t entirely sure will go away anytime soon. 

“I had hoped you would be co-operating with me in this matter, Kaiba,” she said. “Yet at every turn you choose to betray your territory and the Greater Pack.” 

Kaiba snorted at her, unimpressed as always. “I wonder what this so-called _Greater Pack_ would think if they found out you were attempting to commit genocide.” 

Her face twitches slightly, telling the irritation she is struggling to conceal. “They will be made to see the good in the matter.” 

“If a leader has to _make_ their territory see something, usually it’s a lie in the first place.” 

Jou turns his face, hiding inside Kaiba’s neck again. He’s sure the pride he feels at Kaiba’s comebacks is sliding down the bond. The rumble of pleasure that simmers after it confirms the thought. 

A growl comes from the chair. Jou just gives her a look. She does her very best to fake an alpha command, but she’s a beta and it’s obvious. Even Kaiba doesn’t react to it, when his omega instincts are at their peak. “I will give you the mating moon, Kaiba Seto,” she says in a dark voice, “but once it has passed, you’ll see the consequences of going against me.” 

The alpha snorts and looks away from her dismissively. “Yeah. We’ll see what happens.” 


	35. Chapter IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very shot chapter. Mild gore.

When he wakes up the morning after the last mating moon, his mouth is dry and his muscles ache pleasantly. There is hard warmth plastered to his back, one arm wrapped around his waist and another carding fingers through his hair. He wonders if he could pretend he was still asleep, but the hand pauses. 

“Good morning.” 

He relaxes when he recognises the voice, and the timbre of the thoughts on the other side of the bond. “Morning, Jounouchi,” he says. 

He opens his eyes, spotting the guard glaring at them both through the glass of the cage. He turns over and tugs the sheets up over himself, meeting warm eyes on the other side of the pillow. There’s fond patience and reassurance flowing along the bond. He has half a mind to give an irritated look and block it off; but there’s a brief flare as he thinks about withdrawal. He draws the bond closer instead, using it as a comfort to wrap around his mind. Muscular arms wrap around his shoulders to accompany the feeling. 

He enjoys it for a few moments, then he leans down to gather up the clothes he’d carelessly discarded three days ago. His stomach twists and grumbles with hunger, but a quick sniff reveals that there’s nothing to eat in the vicinity. 

Jounouchi, not bothering to dress, goes over to the glass and growls at the guard. “Oi,” he snaps. “Where’s our food, beta?” 

The beta snapped into obedient posture instinctively, but then his face turned up in a sneer. “I haven’t been given instructions to provide you with any.” 

Jounouchi opens his mouth to argue, but he stopped. Tilting his head, as if to listen, a grin crossed over his lips. “Well. Looks like it’s too late for that.” 

It’s a moment before Kaiba can hear what Jounouchi is referring to. He knows that pack call. The guard launches into action. He opens the door, grabs the blond’s hair and drags him out of the cage. It slams shut behind them, leaving Kaiba alone in the cage with only his fears for company. 

His alpha sends reassurance down the bond, but it doesn’t soothe Kaiba’s frazzled mind. If they take Jounouchi away from him permanently, bond will wear away and he’ll be stuck going through withdrawal again. He paces the cage until he’s too tired to do it any more. 

Adrenaline thrums through Jounouchi on the other side of the bond, and upstairs there are pained howls, aggressive snarls, and other accompanying sounds to a fight. Hours of this, and then the door at the top of the stairs opens. 

Two omegas slip into the room and blink at him from the other side of the glass. 

He stares back at them. “Yuugi. Ryou.” He nods to the keypad on the glass door. “The keycode is H-A-R-P. I can’t open it from this side.” 

Ryou hurries to type in the code and the door opens. Kaiba doesn’t hesitate in crossing over to the gateway to his freedom and stepped out. “What’s going on?” 

“Yami’s here to captain the coup,” Yuugi answered. “He told us to get you out and then take you to our den for safety.” 

Kaiba doesn’t even _try_ to avoid the snort of disgust he gives. “Your alpha wants me to cower in the den like a little bitch?” He asked derisively. “Not a chance.” He gives them both a daring look, then rushes up the stairs toward the sound of the fighting. 

It’s mostly finished by the time he gets there. Yami and Jounouchi are both fighting Lady Councilwoman, but even as he watches she throws Yami away and he slams into the wall. He doesn’t get up, but Kaiba can see the easy rise and fall of his chest. 

The shift under his skin, something he hasn’t felt for months, come bursting to life. He’s lupine in moments, four paws thumping against the stone floor. He lunges at the scruff of smooth, pale fur and sinks his teeth into it tightly. 

Lady Councilwoman thrashes to knock him away, the skin of her throat tearing under his teeth thanks to his own actions. 

She puts up a good fight, against two people raised as alphas, but eventually they win. Kaiba looks around, from Yami getting to his paws, then Jounouchi checking to make sure she’s not healing, then toward the open window. 

_Freedom_ , his mind screams. He doesn’t fight against it. He bolts out, howling the call of the Kaiba Gamma. There’s a moment before he hears a response, and then he’s running deep into the forest. 


	36. Chapter  X

“Don’t you want to go see him?” 

Jou shakes his head. 

“You’re newly mated, shouldn’t you be spending this time cementing the bond?” 

The alpha gave a soft smile, reaching up and sliding the preserved tooth along the ballchain of his dad’s old tags. “That ain’t necessary.” 

“So you’re just going to let the mating bond fade out again?” 

He shrugged. For now, he didn’t know what Kaiba wanted. But the bond, stretched between them like an endless ribbon, was warm and content. He glanced at the sky. “Shouldn’t you be at Council by now, Yami?” 

The pack alpha sighed, running a hand through his stiff hair. “I should,” he conceded. “I never sought this leadership.” 

Jou grinned. “You know the rules, Yami. Leader of the coup is Council Leader until the territory votes them out.” 

Yami sighed, but when he left it was with a solemn patience surrounding him. Watching him go reminded Jou of the fact that his pedigree could be traced back to the high wolf kings of old. He doubted he’d be voted out come the next territory meeting. He’d done well, over the last week, to maintain order in the chaotic fall out of an entire council party being slaughtered in one afternoon. 

Without much else to do, Jou left Yami’s gamma den and headed out into the hunting grounds of the forest. It was hours later, with the necks of a couple wild turkeys in his jaws, and nowhere to talk them. Yuugi hated preparing fowl and the betas would just be offended if he offered them one of his kills. 

The answer came as he sensed the vague hunger echoing across the bond at the subconscious part of his mate’s mind. Turning in place, his legs pumped as he raced toward the Kaiba gamma den. When he stepped into the lawn at the edge of the forest, the back door opened to reveal the softly lit interior. 

He made sure he was in human shift before he stepped over the threshold. “Better not be boar!” Mokuba sung playfully, grinning from the doorway. 

Jou snorted a laugh. “It’s turkey,” he reassured him. 

The young beta laughed, picked up an apple from the bowl on the bench, then disappeared out the back door. He settled on the grass of the lawn, just far enough he wouldn’t be able to hear any conversation that happened in the house. 

After a quick hesitation, Jou started prepping the birds for dinner. He looked up when he felt a spark of warmth travelling along the bond. There was Kaiba Seto, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. 

He was back to himself, neatly groomed - not a hair out of place - and dressed to business standards. The only thing that seemed unfamiliar was the soft smile crossing his lips. “Evening, Jounouchi Katsuya,” he said warmly. 

“Evening,” Jou repeated. He doesn’t attempt to the fight the smile that tugs at his own lips. 

There’s a brief pause before Kaiba steps around the counter, standing behind him and wrapping arms around his torso. “I was wondering when you were coming home.” 

He hummed, and leaned back against the hard chest. “You’ve been busy,” he pointed out. 

“Never too busy for my mate,” he murmured, tucking his nose into Jou’s hair and inhaling deeply. “How’s Yami?” 

“Oh, you know,” Jou said vaguely, basking in his mate’s smell too much to care about the other alpha. “Hates running the territory, but he’s good at it.” 

“Mm,” Kaiba agreed. “I don’t envy him the position. It’s hard enough running a theta, let alone the whole territory.” 

Jou laughed. “Kaiba, you _own_ most of the territory.” 

Kaiba’s hands paused, resting just on Jou’s sternum. “Do you think…” He paused, unusually hesitant. “If we’re going to be doing this, you know, _permanently_ , that you might begin to call me ‘Seto’?” 

“Seto,” Jou repeated, tasting the name around in his mouth. “So, this is a...permanent thing for you, huh?” 

“I rather hoped so,” Kaiba... _Seto_ answered. “I’ve been through... _too many_ bonding withdrawals,” he said. “So many bonds and rejections. Even in those brief moments… they didn’t feel as right as this do with you. Perhaps it’s because you were my first bond, but… I want this.” He sighed, breath gusting past Jou’s hair. “If you want this too, Katsuya, I don’t see why not.” 

Jou set down the turkeys, washed his hands clean, then turned to face his mate. “You sure about this?” He asked. “About me? Half the time we were bonded last year, we didn’t even like each other.” 

“I like you,” Seto said, surprised. “I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with, but I thought you… you really didn’t like me?” 

He grinned awkwardly. “Sorry. Things were hard for me. I do like you though.” 

“Well, it’s a start,” he said. “I know things between us aren’t conventional. I was raised to be an alpha, and I am pack-alpha of two packs. But I thought… what we had works. I want it to keep working.” 

Jou smiled. “It did work. You understand me, Seto. Most of the time I think I understand you. I don’t mind taking care of the house stuff.” He raised up on his toes to nuzzle their noses against one another. “I’ll be your pack-omega, Seto. I’m not promising you forever, but as long as this works between us, you have me.” 

“We’ve never kissed,” Seto said, intense blue eyes looking down to meet his. 

“Should we fix that?” Jou asked, grinning. 

“Hn,” Seto looked down at him. “Not now,” he said quietly. “We’ll do it when it feels natural. For now…. we are what we are.” 

Jou smiled. “We are.” He smirked though. “Now, how about you let me finish these turkeys, we can send your brother off to the delta for night and then we can see about giving you a mating bite.” 

Seto smiled. “Sounds like a plan.” 

  


  
The End  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Months way overdue that I just couldn't get the ending done. This concludes the final arc of Lunatic. I'm glad you all enjoyed it and thank you all for the kudos, and comments, or even just reading!


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